August 13, 2021 09:48 AM UTC

Get More Smarter on Friday the 13th

• 4 Comments
• by: Colorado Pols

Happy Friday the 13th — the only such day of 2021. Let’s Get More Smarter. If you think we missed something important, please include the link in the comments below (here’s a good example). If you are more of an audio learner, check out The Get More Smarter Podcast. And don’t forget to find us on Facebook and Twitter. 

CORONAVIRUS INFO…

*Colorado Coronavirus info:
CDPHE Coronavirus website 

*Daily Coronavirus numbers in Colorado:
http://covid19.colorado.gov

*How you can help in Colorado:
COVRN.com

*Locate a COVID-19 testing site in Colorado:
Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment 

*Coloradans can now get a COVID-19 vaccine at one of six locations without a prior appointment. 

► The U.S. Census Bureau released a trove of new demographic data from the last decade on Thursday. The big national takeaway is that the number of white people in the United States fell for the first time in the country’s recorded history. More specific to Colorado, the Greeley metropolitan area is one of the fastest-growing areas in the country, and the City of Denver is one of the 10 cities in the U.S. with the biggest population gain over the last decade.

The Denver Post elaborates on the Colorado-centric aspects of the data release:

Colorado fits right in with several of the biggest nationwide trends shown by the data, including continued migration south and west, away from the midwest and northeast. The state and country are also less white overall. A record low of about 58% of people nationally now identify as non-Hispanic white, the census reports.

The Washington Post also highlights the growth in Colorado’s northern Metro area.

► President Biden and Vice President Harris are still in office at this moment and do not appear to be close to resigning their positions. Today, of course, is the day that adherents of “The Big Lie” (including “MyPillow Guy” Mike Lindell) predicted would be the end of the Biden administration.

Look at the crowds for Donald Trump!! #ReinstatementDay pic.twitter.com/iQ3JEfqvAy

— Jodi Andrea ◍ (@reaIannoyed) August 13, 2021

It has now been 283 days since the November 2020 election. Move it along, people.

For more on how Lindell’s “cyber symposium” worked out, check out Aaron Blake’s column in The Washington Post titled, “The spectacular implosion of Mike Lindell.”

► Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters is in some pretty deep doo-doo. As the Colorado Secretary of State’s office outlined on Thursday, it appears that someone in the Mesa County Clerk’s office turned off security cameras at exactly the same time that screenshots from the electronic voting software were captured. As a result, Mesa County will have to go to considerable expense to replace all of its election equipment. Peters, naturally, is invoking “Nazi Germany” in her self-defense. As The Denver Post explains, Peters addressed the issue publicly while attending Mike Lindell’s “cyber symposium” in South Dakota:

“My job looks like it’s on the line but you know what? The people of Mesa County elected me, not the secretary of state,” Peters said.

“If those passwords were compromised, why can’t they just change them? How many of you have had to change your email password before? Is that a big deal? You just change it. We’re not in the middle of an election right now,” she said. “It’s not like some secret people came and did something nefarious.”

Um, well, actually…

Peters repeatedly referred to a search Tuesday — in which secretary of state’s office employees and Mesa County district attorney’s office employees investigated the election equipment, cameras and visitor logs — as a “raid.”

“This is not Nazi Germany. We cooperate together. We have bipartisan judges. Why couldn’t we have bipartisan judges in there in that room when they were raiding my office?” she told the crowd.

Charles Ashby of The Grand Junction Sentinel has more on Peters’ vague comments from Thursday.

Click below to keep learning stuff…

And Now, More Words…

► Quentin Young of Colorado Newsline revisits Monday’s disastrous GOP press conference in front of a gas station.

► As if she doesn’t have enough problems, Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters will probably need to explain how it was legal for her to accept a private plane ride to South Dakota this week.

► As The Denver Post reports, Republican CU Regent Heidi Ganahl has basically announced her campaign for Governor in 2022:

Heidi Ganahl, University of Colorado regent and the only Republican left holding a statewide office in Colorado, has said she’s considering a run at Gov. Jared Polis next year. This week she penned a column making the case against his reelection.

It’s pretty on-the-nose for a gubernatorial hopeful, and it’s easy to see her repeating the column’s talking points on the stump. All that’s missing from her tweet teasing it is an actual announcement.

The Post also links to comments that first appeared on Colorado Pols in which Republican State Sen. John Cooke calls Democratic incumbent Gov. Jared Polis “unbeatable.”

► As ABC News reports, the hospital system in Mississippi is mere days away from failing completely as caregivers and doctors are overwhelmed by new cases of COVID-19:

Mississippi has requested the federal government send a military hospital ship such as the USNS Comfort, state health official Jim Craig said Wednesday.

The University of Mississippi Medical Center has 127 COVID-19 patients, including 26 children, Dean LouAnn Woodward said Wednesday. About 90% of them are unvaccinated, she said.

The dean warned, “The Mississippi hospital system will fail within the next five to seven or 10 days if the current trajectory continues.” [Pols emphasis]

Mississippi, this is where we are. Fifty beds will be installed here in a concrete garage. The federal government will send overflow medical professionals to staff it. One of the last stopgaps between Mississippi and hospital system failure. pic.twitter.com/6Nj7e87qZZ

— Nick Judin (@nickjudin) August 11, 2021

► As The Washington Post reports, health officials in Arkansas are particularly worried about a surge in serious cases of COVID-19 among children.

► Colorado care workers are standing up for better working conditions and compensation.

► Spread the word: Colorado’s red flag laws are working.

► Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is backing off threats to withhold the pay of educators in districts that mandate masks in schools.

► Governor Jared Polis marked 24 years of the show “South Park” with Colorado-grown creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone.

► The New York Times reports on the astonishing speed with which Taliban forces have overtaken key cities in Afghanistan since the U.S. began its troop withdrawal:

The speed of the cities’ collapse, combined with American officials’ announcement Thursday that they would evacuate most of the United States Embassy, has deepened the sense of panic across the country as thousands try to flee from the Taliban advance.

Only three major Afghan cities — the capital, Kabul, Jalalabad and Mazar-i-Sharif — remain under government control, and one is under siege by the Taliban. With the collapse of both Lashkar Gah and Kandahar, the Taliban now effectively control southern Afghanistan, a powerful symbol of their resurgence, just weeks before the United States is set to completely withdraw from the country.

Over the past week, the Taliban have taken one Afghan city after another in a rapid offensive that has left them well positioned to attack Kabul. The government’s forces appear close to a complete collapse. Some American officials fear that the Afghan government will not last another month.

► The State of Colorado will pay for COVID-19 testing at public schools during the 2021-22 school year. Governor Jared Polis, meanwhile, says that he does not yet think it is necessary to implement a statewide mask mandate.

► Colorado Public Radio explains when and how you will be able to drive through Glenwood Canyon after recent closures on I-70 related to mudslides.

Say What, Now?

We don’t even know where to start here:

Your Daily Dose Of ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

► The “MyPillow Guy” claims that he was attacked in South Dakota on the final day of his “cyber symposium.” Mike Lindell says that he has also previously been attacked by people with swords?

► Because, of course. 

ICYMI

► Oil and gas company KP Kauffman may lose its ability to operate in Colorado after a series of environmental violations.

► Vax. That. Thang. Up.

► This week on The Get More Smarter Podcast, we keep things simple: If you don’t know where to stand, go to the side that does NOT include the Nazis:

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