Bruce Does His Best Joe Stengel

Seems like an honest, if incredibly stupid, mistake

Can't really believe I'm defending this guy, but this really isn't a big deal.  

Yeah, it's funny and ironic, but it also seems to be an honest mistake which he immediately admitted and will correct.

So, let's have a quick chuckle at his ongoing incompetence and get on with it.

"And reality has a well known liberal bias"-Stephen Colbert

---

by: coloverde @ Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 19:38:51 PM CST

I'm sure we'll have more to chuckle about

Between Doug Bruce's continued incompetence and Libertarians4Doug's speeches about "ideological purity," I'm sure we'll all have plenty to laugh about.

"What can be asserted without proof can be dismissed without proof." - Christopher Hitchens

---

by: Cartesian Doubt @ Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 19:44:53 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Honest mistake????? Wait a minute

First of all, he proactively had to submit request for payment.  Meaning he had to submit a request to be paid for 23 days.  Did he not know that he had served less than 23 days?

This guy is supposed to be a fiscal hawk, is he so imcompetant that he can't figure out how many days he should be paid for?

Or is he just a crook???

The reality is that this is indeed a big deal.  In my job, if I overbill for expenses or billings I am not entitled to, I will be fired - either because I am dishonest, or because I am too incompetant to be trusted to represent my clients.

It is not the amount of money, it is the idea.

This is not unlike the person who walks out of the store with merchandise in their pockets and when confronted, say golly gee, I forgot to pay.  No big deal its only a couple hundred dollars.

If another legislator or government official had done something like this, Bruce would have been all over them, like stink on S***.  In fact I remember times when he has done just that, when he was a 'private citizen.'  Moreover, this is a former District Attorney.  Would he prosecute?

---

by: Roger D @ Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 20:02:09 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Come on Roger

What's $750?

Tax and Spend Bruce!

"Suddenly, it may be cool to be American again" - William J. Kole

---

by: Go Blue @ Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 20:09:55 PM CST

[ Parent ]

As (republican) Everett Dirkson said

a million here, a million there, pretty soon you are talking about real money.

Or as Franklin (I think) said:

Take care of the dimes, then the dollars will take care of themselves.

I am sure I have misattributed the quote, but you know what I mean.

If it wasn't for the Hypocrisy of Bruce, this would go by relatively unremarked and could have been chalked up to 'an honest mistake'.

---

by: Roger D @ Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 20:15:39 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Honest mistakes. We all make them.

Ever had a moment when you put the cereal in the fridge, the milk in the cupboard? I have.  Not often, but, I've done something silly like that. We all make honest mistakes.  It's just that when we do they don't get laundered in the press like this.  

Keep Bentley in it so Doug can Win it!

---

by: Libertarians4Doug @ Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 20:14:24 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Are you honestly suggesting that

putting the cereal in the fridge is some how relevant to this?  I have heard of apologists, but this goes to a new level.

This is not a silly/honest mistake.

He proactively put in to be paid for more days than he served - not an honest mistake;

He recieved a check for more than he should have been paid, but did nothing about it until called on it - not an honest mistake.

If he did beleive that the check was accurate (being paid for more days than was appropriate) then he is incompetant and incapable of doing simple arithmetic.  Moreover, if the amount did not raise a red flag, then the detail on the stub should have, unless he simply ignored it because he had requested to be paid for 23 days.

---

by: Roger D @ Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 20:22:56 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Ink

I think the RMN will be happy to document all of Dougie's transgressions (and he's providing them with plenty of material).

To paraphrase the old line:  Never kick a man whose employers purchase ink by the barrel.

---

by: Buckshot @ Thu Feb 21, 2008 at 13:30:14 PM CST

[ Parent ]

The chuckle we enjoy is a juicy bonus...

However, given the level of public attention focused on Papa Tabor's late "kick-start," it's difficult to imagine he didn't know exactly what the correct number was. I agree with those who assert one of two possibilities - crookedness or stupidity. If either is true, we must then add "hypocrisy" to the equation - which tends to dull the luster on Dougie's gold-plated braggadocios image for fiscal responsibility and unrepentant candor.  

z

---

by: Fonzi's Dad @ Thu Feb 21, 2008 at 08:04:02 AM CST

[ Parent ]

Doubtful.

This is not a form that you get off the internet or dig out of your mail pile or delegate to a staffer.

It is a very short form which is supposed to be filled out personally by the legislator.  It is hand delivered to a legislative staff person to the legislator and picked up by the same person.

It is not complicated.  When people like Bruce talk about the utopian future day when your income tax form can fit on a postcard, it will look like this, only more complicated.

On the form you have to affirmatively write in the number of days you served in office for which you are seeking a per diem, and then sign a statement stating that you carefully considered that number of days and that it is correct.

This is the very first such form of the session, so one would expect that Bruce would have read it particularly carefully, compared to something he has completed many times before in the past.

If anyone in the capitol has made a big deal out of being acutely aware of precisely how many days he has served at the capitol, it is Bruce.

Was it a stupid mistake?  Absolutely.  Was there anything at all honest about it?  Not in my opinion.

---

by: ohwilleke @ Thu Feb 21, 2008 at 10:14:43 AM CST

[ Parent ]

The number of days

assumes that you are working weekends, I wouldn't assume that Bruce is.  How many events do you need to go to when your message is "all government is inherently evil"?  That's fine though, I'm sure the devil made him do it.

---

by: shrubsrock @ Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 20:20:37 PM CST

Crystal Gray would understand...

If he made an "honest" mistake how is it he had exactly the right number of days since the session started? He clearly computed it from the first day of session.

Amazon tax? Bad Idea!

---

by: DavidThi808 @ Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 20:40:05 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Duh...

Ten fingers, ten toes, two eyes, one nose.  Why?  How do you charge per diem?

Any mention of her at your meeting?  Good thing no one held their breath?

---

by: shrubsrock @ Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 20:46:29 PM CST

[ Parent ]

One - a supporter

It was bizarre - according to this speaker holding Crystal accountable to her work schedule would mean unpaid volunteers would have to fill out timecards and the overhead of verifying it would end all volunteer work.

Remember, it's Boulder...

Amazon tax? Bad Idea!

---

by: DavidThi808 @ Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 21:04:00 PM CST

[ Parent ]

"Boulder, a town surrounded by reality" ;)

---

by: shrubsrock @ Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 21:47:33 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Well actually

Forbes names Boulder 'smartest city' in U.S.

"Boulder is a draw for many reasons, but undeniably because so much of its population is a result of the University of Colorado," the magazine writes in the story, published Thursday. "But Boulder also has a draw outside the university. As far as environmental awareness goes, Boulder is one of the greenest cities in the United States, and the residents take advantage of the many outdoor recreational activities available to the students, professors and overwhelmingly young adult population."

Forbes reported that of Boulder's 279,897 residents, 52.92 percent had a bachelor's degree or higher among people age 25 and older. It also reported that 3.97 percent of Boulder residents have a Ph.D., while 92.89 percent graduated from high school.

"Suddenly, it may be cool to be American again" - William J. Kole

---

by: Go Blue @ Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 22:14:22 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Well

considering they list our population as 279,897, someone should be questioning the "smartness" of Forbes.  Boulder County, sure.  The city of Boulder...not even 100K.

TIC of course...but lets not forget our smartness often is not connected to the "real world." haha...

Michael Bennet is the new Abraham Lincoln.
- Sharon Hanson

---

by: Dabee47 @ Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 22:41:53 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Ah, the gift that keeps on giving.....

"Collective fear stimulates herd instinct and tends to produce ferocity toward those who are not regarded as members of the herd." -Bertrand Russell

---

by: parsingreality @ Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 20:55:18 PM CST

LOL! Is that a joke about Bruce,

or the state payroll?

---

by: shrubsrock @ Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 20:59:13 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Undoubtedly...

just a matter of time until Chantal Taylor calls Bruce's actions a felony and calls for the death penalty or at least a lengthy prison sentence.

---

by: Murph @ Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 22:56:59 PM CST

Yo, Doug!

They say that when you find yourself in a hole, you stop digging.  So why did you rent an excavator?

Blond women all look the same to me-sxp151

---

by: cologeek @ Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 23:16:14 PM CST

How does per diem work anyway?

Don't you have to prove your expenses? Or be prepared to prove them? Or do you just automatically get $150 a day? And if the latter, why not just pay each legislator the $150 automatically?

I don't get it. I find it very hard to believe that Bruce just automatically spent the maximum $150 per day. On my average day at work I spend maybe $8-10 on transportation and another $10-20 on meals.

Can someone connected with the legislature explain how it works?

---

by: Half Glass Full @ Thu Feb 21, 2008 at 07:50:37 AM CST

Look higher up...

"Per diem" is generally understood to be fixed payment for daily expenses.  You get it no matter what you actually spend.  It saves much bookkeeping overhead.

At the private company I work for, you can choose to do your meals per diem when traveling, or you can choose to track expenditures.  If the per diem rates are chosen well, it's a lot easier to go per diem, and it usually comes out about the same.

Many were increasingly of the opinion that they'd all made a big mistake in coming down from the trees in the first place.  And some said that even the trees had been a bad move, and that no one should ever have left the oceans. - Douglas Adams

---

by: GeoGreg @ Thu Feb 21, 2008 at 18:06:53 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Per diem

is $150 a day if the legislator lives outside of the Denver metro area, $99 a day for legislators that live in the Denver metro area. The $150 a day was approved last year by the General Assembly.

If they have an apartment monthly they can claim every day. If they rent if they don't pay rent on Saturday or Sunday weekly and go back home on the weekend, then they shouldn't claim  the weekend.

No expenses are required to be itemized.

Since Doug Bruce claims to be a very smart man, it's hard to believe that it was just a mistake.A third grader knows the difference from 23 and 18.

He also claims that he gives his pay to charity but it's nothing but a non-profit that he started himself.

---

by: Bruce Doug @ Thu Feb 21, 2008 at 16:19:43 PM CST

Charity? Really?

In that case, I'm starting the non-profit GeoGreg Fund, and I will donate 100% of my salary to that fund.  The purpose of the fund will be to support me in my lavish, tax-free lifestyle.

That's OK with the IRS, right?

What does Bruce's charity do?  Provide orthopedic care to injured photographers?

Many were increasingly of the opinion that they'd all made a big mistake in coming down from the trees in the first place.  And some said that even the trees had been a bad move, and that no one should ever have left the oceans. - Douglas Adams

---

by: GeoGreg @ Thu Feb 21, 2008 at 18:08:50 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Does he receieve

a pacheck from his charity? Now that would a story!

"Suddenly, it may be cool to be American again" - William J. Kole

---

by: Go Blue @ Thu Feb 21, 2008 at 19:38:13 PM CST

[ Parent ]

What's the name?

Has the IRS recognized it as a 501/3/C?  

"Collective fear stimulates herd instinct and tends to produce ferocity toward those who are not regarded as members of the herd." -Bertrand Russell

---

by: parsingreality @ Sun Feb 24, 2008 at 22:19:00 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Active Citizens Together

Douglas Bruce started it, I think, but there is not a history on the site.  I assume that they are the non-profit that they claim to be.

Were you a Bruce fan?  I can't remember.  If you are, check it out, it's informative.  If you're not, check it out, it's hilarious.

http://www.actcolorado.org/

---

by: shrubsrock @ Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 00:06:03 AM CST

[ Parent ]

Wash your mouth out with soap!!!!!!!

Not only anti-Bruce, but anti-TABOR. (And pro representative legislation.)

"Collective fear stimulates herd instinct and tends to produce ferocity toward those who are not regarded as members of the herd." -Bertrand Russell

---

by: parsingreality @ Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 08:34:57 AM CST

[ Parent ]

My keyboard did it, I wasn't even in the room! Honest.

Incidently, if you've not been to the site, don't bother.  It'll just piss you off.

---

by: shrubsrock @ Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 11:44:50 AM CST

[ Parent ]

Advice taken!

"Collective fear stimulates herd instinct and tends to produce ferocity toward those who are not regarded as members of the herd." -Bertrand Russell

---

by: parsingreality @ Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 15:43:53 PM CST

[ Parent ]