Colorado is similar to most other states, with a clear urban-rural split and lots of nagging problems that resist quick solutions.
Crowded, often crappy roads. Homelessness without any clear solutions. Poverty gnawing at large numbers of citizens. Sky-high housing costs. Gun violence in cities and soaring suicide rates in rural areas. Ah, modern life.
In today's news we find that the state just passed 12,000 deaths due to Covid, though the public health rules are being phased out. Much as those mostly elderly and vulnerable Coloradans have been phased out. And folks around here seem ready to join the national push to "put the pandemic behind us" and act normal. After all, now we are back to the very young and the very old being the primary victims of the virus (no who really cares?) and our stagnant vaccination rate reflects the national split on vaccinations beyond the ones we all are quite used to (polio, chicken pox, measles, etc.).
There is a bill moving through the state legislature to ban carrying weapons openly within 100 feet of a ballot drop off box. Predictably, the committee vote to advance was all seven Democrats approving and all four Republicans voting no.
Significantly, the bill does not ban concealed weapons, but you can't have everything, can you? The bill seems like a no-brainer, joining a list of other prohibited expression and action near voting locations. Nobody can seriously be in favor of allowing blatant intimidation as a polling place, can they?
I don't care how well-trained or reasonable people are, armed civilians lurking around the drop off box I use to vote sounds like intimidation. Republican plans to assign their foot soldiers to "keep watch" over their neighbors is the very definition of fascism and it's just another example of not trusting, well, anyone in this country.
Another story today announced that an obscure election official from Grand Junction will run for Secretary of State. Unfortunately, Tina Peters has been charged with a variety of offenses and continues to rage about the 2020 election results. As with many in the Cult, she argues that the election results are somehow incorrect though she can not reveal any evidence.
At this point, Cult members who still listen to this stuff are lost to any sort of reasoned democracy. On the other hand, the more radicals the Cult supports in the coming elections, the better for Democrats (perhaps that is mere naïve hope).
Our country school board continues to disappoint, rushing to create a process for hiring a new superintendent, which would be the fourth in just six years. Chaos is the kindest way to describe the current state of debate in Douglas County, the sixth richest county in America.
The problem with the recently fired district leader boiled down to him supporting the previous board's choices on masking -- that really IS the job of any superintendent -- and on tearing up the district's equity policy as part of the struggle against teaching Critical Race Theory in county schools.
Hardly anyone knows much about CRT, and certainly the four radical right board members have no idea. They were elected, however, by lots of white people who are terrified by almost any discussion of topics they don't understand or don't agree with or just want to ignore.
Not a good time to be a history or journalism teacher in these parts. Not a good time to be a teacher in general, I suppose, since the board majority has increased a conflict between professional educators and hobbyist politicians looking for some air time on FOX and conservative radio.
But most current teachers will NOT leave the district, I predict. Starting over in another district is much more complex than signing a new contract. And most county residents will not really understand what is going on and not really care unless they have children in the schools here.
One thing we never have to worry much about in America: the rich will be OK.
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