(Promoted by Colorado Pols)
This diary is about small victories, local heroes, sweet stories, random kindnesses, unexpected grace, cold justice served up on a hot plate. As always, your interpretation of what is “good news” is probably different than mine.
This week, it’s all about healthcare and the resistance to the BCRA Wealthcare bill. We’ve come too far to give up now. Keep our eyes on the prize: A public healthcare system like every other industrialized country has.
Healthcare, the ACA, and the Senate Wealthcare bill
The Senate Democrats fought hard to keep the BCRA, aka Trump’s Wealthcare bill, from being voted on without hearings or public input. It was good to see some Senate backbone on display.
Hawaii’s Maisie Hirono led filibustering on the Senate floor.
Our own Senator Bennet spoke at length, outlining what’s at stake in this health care bill.
But – we don’t know what Cory Gardner really thinks about the Senate healthcare bill he supposedly helped to draft. Right now, he looks to be in the “Yes on BCRA” camp, because he pretends that insurance costs will go down with the Senate bill. However, Cowardly Cory will not give his constituents the courtesy of in-person meetings or town halls to discuss his position. Even when said constituents try really, really hard.
To keep the heat on, keep contacting
Senator Bennet: Contact Us
Senator Gardner: Contact Cory*
More good news about healthcare in Colorado: we get to keep all of our insurance brokers next year, said Colorado Insurance Commissioner Marguerite Salazar. No Colorado counties will be without an insurance provider, according to the Summit Daily News.
Environment and Energy
New renewable energy use record set in China’s Qinghai province. Quanghai province is bigger than Texas, has 5.8 million people, and 535K tons of coal were replaced entirely by renewable energy sources for one week.
Chinese officials visited Fort Morgan dairies to see how an agricultural extension program (like CSU’s) works with agricultural producers in the field. Chinese agriculture scientists and bureaucrats want to learn new ways to increase food production while saving energy.
For farmers and ranchers who want to conserve energy, $500,000 in grant funds is available. Contact Colorado Agriculture Today for more information.
Colorado’s fractious Public Utilities Commission (PUC) decided to allow Xcel Energy to study and build a smart grid and “smart meters”. They also resolved to study and plan for “decoupling revenue“. Revenue decoupling takes away the utility’s incentive to increase revenue by increasing demand for energy. This should help boost energy conservation and distributed grid energy systems, i.e. rooftop solar installations. From COSEIA
Lady Parts News
A comedy tour is helping to educate and to inspire women to activism around reproductive rights.
Fewer women are bleeding to death in childbirth in California.
How? By doing fewer C sections, mostly. US maternal mortality is going up, while that of every other developed nation is going down.
Some c-sections are medically necessary for the health of mother and/or baby. But they tend to scar, allowing placentae to adhere internally, thus causing excessive bleeding in childbirth.
The US does way more c-sections than any other country, and it turns out that this may have disastrous consequences for a mother’s ability to deliver naturally down the line.
Teen births are way down across the United States – a decrease of 67% since 1991. What’s behind it? Access to contraceptives. Whoda thunk it?
Progressive Candidates to watch in Colorado in 2018
We will have some great choices of progressive candidates for local offices in 2018. This is the year when the Democratic party must embrace its progressive side, its outsiders, its idealists, because everything we think we know about politics is wrong.
Faith Winter, former HD35 Representative, is now running for SD24. She kicked off her campaign with sparklers on June 28.
![](https://scontent-iad3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/18882042_433612753690404_2436132016682921053_n.jpg?oh=804cbae422a949d197b35173b179cf7b&oe=59DD092F)
Brianna Buontello is one of the new “Emerge” class of candidates, and is running to represent Pueblo’s HD47. Trump-stumper Clarice Navarro better watch out!
Zach Neumann is running for SD32 in SW Denver.
Zach Neumann is a candidate for SD32 (SW Denver).
Representative Joe Salazar, running for Colorado Attorney General
Representative Joe Salazar is running for Attorney General. He intends to be the “People’s Lawyer”. Mr. Salazar has been a scrappy and reliable fighter for working people in Colorado.
Rep. Salazar has said that, as Attorney General, he would be the only candidate to defy the oil and gas lobby by canceling the appeal of the Martinez ruling. Rep. Salazar’s campaign kicked off last week in Greeley.
He is opposed by two well-funded Democratic candidates in the primary, but believes that he can win with grassroots support. You can contribute to his campaign at salazarforcoag.com.
Dispensary in Denver. Wikipedia commons.
If it’s Colorado, we must have a
Cannabis story
Cannabis tourists are coming here – and Colorado ideas are spreading across the country.
We all know that Colorado has had an influx of “cannabis refugees” – those who came here to have access to medical marijuana treatments which they could not access in their own states. Addyson’s family came from Ohio originally, but came to Colorado to get treatment for an epileptic disorder that wracked the 5 year old Addyson with up to 1,000 seizures a day. After two years of treatment, the family is returning to Ohio, because Governor Kasich just signed a law permitting medical marjjuana use.
Vive l’ resistance
Crowd protesting outside Senator Gardner’s office. from Organizing for America
Many Colorado organizations are resisting the Senate’s jamming its flawed wealthcare bill down the throats of Americans. Organizing for America, Indivisible, Ultraviolet, BLM5280 ProgressNowColorado, NARAL, CIRC, and many more are perfecting the art of the instant demonstration and working in coalitions. It looks as though the resistance will get lots more practice – won’t we, Senator Gardner?
My nominees for most inspiring resisters are the activists of Colorado ADAPT, who occupied the Denver office of Senator Cory Gardner for three days, demanding that he vote “No” on Senate BCRA Wealthcare bill. Senator Gardner declined to meet with the activists, although he allowed them to stay for two days.
The occupiers kept up a live feed on social media, with thousands of views over the 3 days.
Finally, Gardner had them forcibly removed and arrested for trespassing and other charges, and then lied about it, blaming the building management and/or Denver Police.
The activists are the heroes, and Gardner is an uncaring, opportunistic double-talker. But we knew that.
LGBT news
New York’s future art installation honoring LGBT history will literally make rainbows from prismatic glass in rocks.
The Supreme Court struck down an Arkansas law which treated same-sex parents differently than opposite sex parents as far as listing on children’s birth certificates. Gorsuch, Colorado’s latest contribution to the Supremes, wrote a really baffling dissent.
Jesuit priest advocates “building a bridge” between gays and the Catholic church, and, oh, yeah, the church shoud stop firing its LGBT employees.
Pop culture is getting queerer all the time, and America tuning in, watching, listening, and loving it.
Nashville companies find that being LGBT friendly is good business.
Housing and Human Services will once again ask older people about sexual preference. The Trump administration had “scrubbed” this question, but public outcry brought it back.
Trump Stinks Department
Nice comeback – by now, everyone’s been disgusted at our “President” using his morning to insult MSNBC journalist Mika Brezinski’s face (inaccurately, from six months ago) . Mika’s response, however, was classy and perfect.
In reply to Trump, she tweeted:
Keep those tiny hands off the red button!
Apparently, the House of Representatives is having second thoughts about allowing the Trumpster to play Commander in Chief.
After decades, Representative Barbara Lee finally got the Bush -era Authorization for Use of Military Force sunsetted. The Senate will have to weigh in.
If Donald Trump wants to commit American troops to war, he’s going to have to go through Congress, and Congress will have to put themselves on the record for or against it. That’s good news for democracy, and probably for the planet.
You can’t have good Colorado news without some
Animal stories
They’re building animal crossings in Summit County to cut down on the number of wildlife-involved car accidents. There were 7,000 wildlife vs. vehicle accidents in CO last year, 2100 in Summit County alone.
A Longmont prairie dog colony may be relocated to Rocky Flats insteadof becoming eagle food or being exterminated.
Random Rocks of Kindness
A Colorado Springs area family has started a new fad of finding rocks, painting inspiring messages on them, and leaving them in random places for others to find. 719rocks! started out with 25 people, and now has thousands of folks involved in collecting, painting, and hiding cute rocks.
What the heck, it gets people outside and it’s not as weird as Pokemon Go.
Prarie dogs at Rocky Flats? Will they grow extra legs? Grow to three times their normal size? Develop big pointy teeth? This will be an interesting experiment. I just hope the fencing is kept in good repair.
cook, eagles and other wildlife seem to be thriving at the Rocky Mtn Wildlife Arsenal / wildlife refuge. It's been an EPA Superfund site for years.
There are, or were, people monitoring the health of the wildlife in the 27 square miles of the RMA. The top 10' of topsoil in the most contaminated sites was removed and stored in impermeable hazardous waste holding tanks.
With EPA cuts, maybe there won't be so much monitoring anymore. But at least on the surface, the wildlife there appears to be thriving.
For Rocky Flats, there is a similar long term plan to make a good wildlife refuge out of it. I assume that this includes heavy duty cleanup of the most contaminated sites. Again, with EPA funding cuts under Trump, this plan may not get implemented.
They kept the environmental monitoring under the umbrella of the EPA, but transferred wildlife management to the Fish and Wildlife Service. I think there is something similar planned for the Flats. I know at one time, they were considering making it into a “live fire” gun range. I’m glad that plan was kiboshed.
But the prairie dogs are probably good to go.
I know. I'm just being a smartass. I’m sure the critters will be fine. When I first met Karen she lived in a house in Westminster, practically within rock-throwing distance of Rocky Flats. We used to joke that we were so close that, at night we could see the glow from the security guards, er, the parking lot lights there. On the other hand, we both have thyroid disease and have to take meds for it.
I guess you have never seen the movie "Tremors". More real reasons to be afraid of "graboids" then the Trump Presidency.
Now that one I had to go to IMDb for. I've never seen the films, but really, It doesn't seem I missed much.
MJ
It would be "Vive la resistance" not "Vive l' resistance.
For those who have not accepted the election of our duly elected President and continue to undermine our government, you can do them the favor of correct French.
Thanks – I'll correct it to la on the next Good News. Curious, though – where in that diary do you see anyone undermining the government?
Do you respect a President who spends his morning tweeting about how some newscaster's face looked 6 months ago?
Do you want this guy, who seems to be arbitrary, easily rattled, and often confused, having the keys to the nuclear codes?
Oh but the Buffoon-in-Thief has that big, beautiful (R) by his name, so Gerbils is good to go.
You see, in his mind, Trump is the government, regardless of what that fishwrap, the constitution says.
MJ
I respect the President.
I believe the secret to his political success has been his ability to circumvent the old media, largely by twitter.
I think he has made the country better in the short time he has been President and look forward to him continuing the same.
I also think the media has been thoroughly undermined by their reporting of fake stories and seeing their feeling hurt by someone treating them like they have been treating him is rather rich.
I feel comfortable that Trump, unlike Clinton, will at least not sell the nuclear codes to the Russians.
How has Trump made the country "better"? Be specific. I would define better as safer, more economically robust, (more jobs), less foreign intervention (at least without a clear mission and end game), more unified, more democratic.
It is past June 27, so past PP's 6 month challenge day. You can take it up, if you like. See challenge:
So how many real jobs has Trump "brought back", how many terrorist attacks (including white and homegrown citizen terrorists) have occurred,
So 1. How many jobs created? 2. How many terrorist attacks in the US? 3. How many campaign promises kept for the President you’re so proud of?
Gerbils:
A deep rot has really set in for a significant part of the GOP. Sorry it has come to that. I think Americans (including quite a few Republicans) are finally realizing that Trump has proven to be totally unfit for office.
Fasten your seatbelts, we're all in for a bumpy ride.
MJ:
The three areas that come to mind are:
1. By rolling back Obama immigration, energy and environmental policies he has made improvements.
2. By selecting a conservative US Supreme Court Justice he has made an improvement.
3. By having a more robust and less wimpy military policy he has made an improvement.
I don't expect you to agree that those are improvements because you thought his predecessor was doing a good job, an opinion which I do not share.
So you are saying that $100 million in missiles and military personnel to blow up some ancient Syrian planes is an 'improvement'. Last time I looked Assad was laughing his ass off at Trump. Wrong answer Andrew. You fail diplomacy and military strategy 101.
So you are admitting that Gorsuch is a partisan hack who has no intention of calling balls and strikes but putting his finger on the scale so that he tilts the law towards his partisan overlords. Wrong answer Andrew. You fail American democracy 101.
How are these improvements? What exactly do they improve? for whom or what is this an improvement?
Hard for me to see how rolling back environmental protections is an improvement mama. Antarctica's Larson C is about to break off and Andrew has no idea the consequences that will follow. Energy prices are low and going to go lower thanks to Obama's 'All of the above' energy policies so it is hard to imagine how rolling back protections to rural communities regarding drilling is going to be an improvement unless like Andrew, you believe that a few house explosions is the price society pays for making the Tillotson's of the world richer.
There is no change in the military. Forces are the same. Equipment is the same. Navy is damaged by not having a SecNav. A missile frigate is damaged such to be not usable.
Terrorist attack:
http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/attacks/american-attacks.aspx
Jobs: (without the U.S. is not within the scope of discussion)
https://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS14000000
Obama/Trump campaign promises:
Obama
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/obameter/
Trump
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/trumpometer/
In reply to PP's Trump metrics:
In this post, I'm only going to rebut PP's contention that there have been only 6 fatalities, with one injured, and all attributable to "Islamic Attack", since Donald J Trump's inauguration.
Terrorist incidents under Trump
Since Janurary 20, 2017, TROP, which seems to be Islamophobic and fact challenged, Id'd 3 attacks as “Islamic” .
1. In Denver last January,
2.
3.
4. Here’s an Islamist attack in the US your list missed on June 21, 2017. No fatality, policeman stabbed in Flint, Michigan.
So all you noted from TRoP's list was that they were “Islamic”. I notice that they are all US citizens, all males, all had free access to guns, and probably all three were mentally unstable and not receiving treatment. No refugees on that list, no one from any country Donald Trump has vowed to keep us safe from.
Body count: Trump terrorist attacks since inauguration: 6 dead victims, 1 injured, 4 male citizens affiliated with Islam.
Here’s some other white, male, US citizens who have committed acts of domestic terrorism since Donald Trump has been inaugurated:
2/23/17 white male shot 3 East Indian engineers in Olathe, Kansas, because he thought that they were from the Middle East. One died.
3/25/17 James Harris Jackson, a white supremacist, stabbed a young black college student, Timothy Caughman, and revealed that he planned to kill more black men in Times Square.
5/27/17 Portland, Oregon, a white supremacist, Jeremy Christian, attacked two young women because one was wearing a hijab, and when two men intervened, he stabbed and killed both of them.
6/14/2017 A white male citizen opened fire on a Congressional baseball practice in Alexandria, VA, and injured 5 people.
5/30/2017 Richard Collins, African-American student, stabbed to death by a white male US citizen member of an “Alt-Reich” Facebook group.
White male right wing presumably Christian terrorists, 5 deaths, 8 injured victims.
Total terrorist body count since 1/20/2017: 11 deaths, 9 injured
Trump has directed the Center on Violent Extremism to focus only on Islamic extremism, in spite of the similar or higher body count by white supremacist extremists.
Do you agree with that decision?
I know you probably would like to distract right now, by blaming Obama for something. So to oblige you, I’ve included the list of recent terrorist attacks, all committed by US citizens, during Obama’s terms. What would you have wanted to do to make the American people safer? Gun laws, access to more and better mental health services, Patriot Act surveillance were some of the ways Obama tried to deal with the problem of domestic terrorism and random violence.
However,nothing during Obama's time in office compared with the terrorist attacks under his predecessor:
The most deadly terrorist attack on US soil, committed under George W Bush’s watch, which would make all of these other body counts pale in comparison. W also had plenty of warnings about the 9/11 attacks, which he chose to ignore.
The United States is relatively safe from violent extremism, compared to the rest of the world. See, for example, this
Interactive world map of global terrorist incidents in 2017. By far the most deadly has been Islamic State in Yemen and Syria, with Al Shabaab in north Africa coming in 2nd.
The point is that we live in a violent country in which anyone can get easy access to weapons to kill other people. They cannot, however, get easy access to an understanding community, nor to appropriate mental health services which so many of them need.
Almost all of these killers were US citizens. None were refugees from any of the countries on Trump’s travel ban. All were male. All were well-armed. Most probably needed mental help.
Here's another chilling thought. The list of "injured' people from terrorist attacks would be much larger if all hate crimes were considered to be terrorist attacks.
Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has tracked 900 hate and bias incidents just in the 10 days following Trump’s election. No fatalities, but things like racist graffiti, someone displaying a noose in a public place, death threats, verbal threats of violence, and assaults.
This SPLC image shows 867 incidents, mostly at schools in just the 10 days after Trump's inauguration..
Trump has declared open season on blacks, gays, liberals, protesters, Jews, and Muslims, and there are plenty of unbalanced people listening and taking it to heart. Some are also well-armed, and believe the line that your TRoP site puts out, i.e., that all Muslims are dangerous terrorists.
Where do you stand on this violence? Is a terrorist a terrorist regardless of his / her religion, citizenship, or skin color?
I'm guessing that you won't read any of this, since your mind is all made up and you don't want to be confused with any inconvenient facts. You'll continue to whine about how "the libs" are victimizing poor you, and it's so unfair to the white working guys.
But I will tell you that on your point 1, you've understated terrorist incidents in the US under Trump by half, and are completely ignoring the hate crimes perpetuated by people who look and believe as you do.
I'll address your points two (jobs) and three (campaign promises kept) in separate posts later.
MJ,
I impressed with your research, but I'm having difficulty in what you main point is. It seems you are stating that white conservitive Christian men with access to guns are the main perpetrators of terrorist action in the U. S. I just don't see the connection. Further I don't see what the connection between Obama and Trump has to do with any of this. If you are trying to make some correlation between the two it would be extremely problematic.
It also seems you want to conflate terrorist and terrorism and that would be wrong. The terrorism we face is from radical Islam. An organized group/population/culture intent on doing non believers harm and destruction.
Was Timothy McVey a terrorist, not in my view. Is the Ft Hood shooter a terrorist yes. You want each act of violence to be portrayed as some type of terrorist activity and it's not. Is the KKK terrorist, yes. Is James Holmes a terrorist, no.
It's not clear your body count statement was intended to be a rallying call of some type, but it lacks statistical significance. It turns out hot dogs are more of a cause for concern than your body count statement.
Total terrorist body count since 1/20/2017: 11 deaths, 9 injured
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, 77 children each year choke to death in a vain, futile effort to consume hot dogs:
You reveal a strong animus toward "white working guys", you left off the Christian, that seems to be a familiar code with the Pols. I guess it is because white working guys help elect Trump. If it had been black working women that helped elect Trump would you still have the same animus? Or Chinese, or Mexicans, it's just a matter of fill in the blank on who to place blame for Hillary loosing, isn't it?
The point is that we have twice as many terrorist incidents each year if we count the white Christian guys.
Trump doesn't want to do that.
Is that simple enough for you?
Now I'm going to go do patriotic stuff.
I suggest you do the same.
You want to know why you don’t get it, PP?
Because you are blinded by the bullshit you have heard from "Christian" institutions since you were a child. I heard it, too. Then I realized why the "Christian" label has become anathema to anything taught by Jesus Christ…(whose words I try to use to guide my life)…taxes. Or better …no taxes.
It is incredibly corrupt.
When I drive to work in the morning I scan through at least 6 or 7 "Christian" radio stations. There are hundreds and hundreds of them across the country. And "Christian" publications …and "Christian" colleges. I daresay if you added it all up there are billions of dollars flowing into the coffers of "Christian" organizations whose primary purpose is political…not spiritual. And yet every dollar associated with these so-called "churches" is tax free.
The “Christian” church racket is huge and growing every day.
"Christian" churches are not the small, personal, congregations I was a part of in my youth. They have become either giant mega churches that highlight worship and rock music, but put very little, if any, emphasis on elevating the soul, or they are still small but have signed onto a "network" of churches, receiving sermons and editorial position papers from the national "Christian Business Combine" (a term I just made up…I think).
I have personally experienced these things I am talking about. I know what I have seen. There is no longer anything respectable or honorable about the word "Christian". The churches have seen to that.
I do not feel as you do.
I guess you should be happy that with each generation fewer people will identity themselves as Christian. What has been the benefit of this loss of faith? Will you make government your god?
You seem to be incapable of understanding that the word "Christian" has come to represent something at which the Christ I know would be appalled.
I sat with my late mother in a small "Christian" church in rural Texas and listened to a "spiritual guidance memo" from John Hagee, to whom the little church attached itself in order to overcome its constant struggle for funding. Little churches all across the country have done the same.
But they pay a price. The little church has installed big screens and the pastor no longer delivers a sermon designed to make you a better human being. His message is designed to allow todays' "Christians" to get in, get their worship out of the way with a few rock and roll tunes, pay their tithe, and get back to their lives.
In the meantime, the message from the"Big Church" is “keep paying those tithes and God will make you rich, like us”. All you have to do is hate on anyone John Hagee tells you to.
No, Pair…you don't get it. I have enormous faith in God…but not in the humans who have ascended to the top of the Christian church. My God is not wealthy. My God hates no one. My God is not involved in politics or government.
You seriously need an education, Pear. I will pray for you.
When the mythical creatures from Zeus and Odin and Yahweh and Prosperity Jesus, et al, have had their day, Pear, we are left with reason, compassion and the human spirit. Einstein said he believed in "Spinosa's god, who reveals himself in the order of the universe."
Frankly, the more I learn about the universe, the less orderly it seems. But at least Spinoza's God doesn't demand human sacrifice, conduct inquisition or preach imbecilities about a 6,000 year old earth. Reason and science are the only things elevating man above crocodiles. That may not be as satisfying as Bael, Athena or Jehovah. But at least it's real.
There are exceptions to every rule, but this is becoming increasingly true in the age of #ProsperityJesus
More good news mama. In a recent poll against a generic Dem, Gardner trailed 39% to 53%. With his guaranteed vote for the BODA, his popularity is going to go even lower.
That is good news, GG. Slimey Smiley has to be taking a good long look at retiring from politics for a lucrative lobbying career.
Defining "terrorism": I'll go with the FBI and the Patriot Act on this one.
Terrorism is the unlawful use of violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political aims.
So Holmes / Aurora: Unlawful, Violence, intimidation, against civilians, no political aims, so does not equal terrorism.
The five incidents I cited above include crime, violence, against civilians, and political intent to intimidate in the pursuit of political aims.
The first was an attempt to intimidate "Muslims", which the shooter thought that the 3 Indian engineers were. Political aim: deter Muslims from coming to US.
The second, Jackson's stabbing the black college student, was pure racist, as his intent was to intimidate black men in Times square.
The third, in Portland, in which 2 men were killed for interfering in intimidation of a woman in hijab, had anti-Muslim intent.
The fourth, the Congressional baseball game shooter, tried to intimidate Republicans.
The fifth, another random attack on a black man by a man espousing Nazi beliefs.
I don't really know what the attackers' religious beliefs were, so probably should not assume Christianity. However, it's certain that all attackers were white males, and all were US citizens.
These attacks fit the FBI / Patriot Act definition of terrorism, but Trump will not count them as terrorist attacks, and apparently, neither will you, only because they are not Islamist attackers.
So by your definition, (Islamophobic page you cited) there have been only three terrorist incidents in the US since Trump took office, and by the FBI's definition, there have been 9 such incidents. 4 Islamist associated, (all by citizens, though), and 5 non-Islamist citizen attacks.
Leaving aside the race and religion of the attackers, I think even you would agree that Trump is drastically underplaying the prevalence of terrorist attacks on citizens in his administration.