July 24, 2015 11:13 AM UTC

Get More Smarter on Friday (July 24)

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• by: Colorado Pols

Here’s to unclogging the Internet tubes. Let’s Get More Smarter with Colorado Pols! If you think we missed something important, please include the link in the comments below (here’s a good example).

TOP OF MIND TODAY…

► The circus that is the Republican field for President in 2016 is not making Americans feel better about the GOP, according to a new study from the Pew Research Center:

The Republican Party’s image has grown more negative over the first half of this year. Currently, 32% have a favorable impression of the Republican Party, while 60% have an unfavorable view. Favorable views of the GOP have fallen nine percentage points since January. The Democratic Party continues to have mixed ratings (48% favorable, 47% unfavorable).

The 32% favorability rating for the Republican Party is the lowest mark in Pew’s polling since 1992.

► Another week, another shooting; a man in Louisiana opened fire in a movie theater on Thursday, killing two women and injuring many others before taking his own life.

Get even more smarter after the jump…

IN CASE YOU ARE STANDING NEAR A WATER COOLER…

► Famous person Donald Trump wore his finest white golf shoes for a tour of the U.S./Mexico border on Thursday. From James Hohmann of the Washington Post:

During a whirlwind visit — it was less than three hours from when his jet touched down to when it took off — Trump blazed around in a presidential-style motorcade that included seven SUVs and even more police cars. Local officers blocked off roads, including Interstate 35, for Trump’s entourage.

The Republican presidential candidate, leading the GOP field in national polls but increasingly under fire from the establishment wing of his party, said repeatedly that he had been told he would be in “great danger” if he visited this town of 236,000 in southern Texas — even though Laredo, which is roughly 96 percent Hispanic, has a significantly lower murder rate than Trump’s home town of New York City. He would not say who had told him that he was at risk.

Elsewhere, Trump is threatening to run for President as a third-party candidate in 2016 if the Republican National Committee isn’t nice to him.

► Governor John Hickenlooper is ending his one-year term as Chairman of the National Governor’s Association.

► FBI Director James Comey visited Denver as part of a regular tour of agency field offices. In remarks to the media, Comey talked about the threat of “terrorism in your pocket.“

► The U.S. Army would appreciate it if people did not stand outside recruiting stations armed to the teeth. 

► Remember, kids: There’s never a good reason to compare something to the Nazis.

► A U.S. Senate committee gave a thumbs up to allowing marijuana businesses to have access to banking services. From the Denver Business Journal:

The Senate Appropriations Committee voted 16-14 Thursday in support of opening up banking services to marijuana businesses in Colorado and other states where they operate legally.

It passed an amendment to the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations bill that would forbid the use of federal funds to penalize financial institutions that serve marijuana businesses operating legally under state law.

► Jurors in the Aurora Theater Shooting trial appear to be moving closer to a decision on the death penalty for James Holmes.

OTHER LINKS YOU SHOULD CLICK

► Today is the last day at the Denver Post for longtime political journalist Lynn Bartels, who talked with Jason Salzman in an interesting Q&A session about her career and the state of journalism.

► El Paso County Commissioner Sallie Clark is the the first Colorado Commissioner to be elected President of the National Association of Counties.

ICYMI

► So long, Hulk Hogan. The WWE terminated its relationship with the longtime “professional wrestling” star after he was reported making some pretty ridiculous racist comments.

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