The Colorado State Open Thread is for you, my neighbors in this state. While I’m looking out at the snow coming down today, I understand it’s not coming down in the Denver metro or many other places in the state. Oh well, you’ll eventually get some of this water.
The “Q” nightclub shooting is still a topic of concern, especially over Colorado’s red flag law that allowed someone who had the police called on them for not just holding his mother against his will but also for building a bomb with which he threatened police and his neighborhood with — well according to his family, when the police finally arrived and got him to surrender, his grandparents said essentially “no harm, no foul” and he was never prosecuted (I can understand this, at least somewhat) but he also was never put on any kind of list that said “Don’t sell this dangerous man any weapons” like what would happen in a sane society. I would much, much rather have someone who is involved in some sort of dangerous or lethal weapons incident, especially where the police are involved and are told by the subject that he’ll blow up the house, and especially when they find bomb making materials in the house —
I just hope they make the red flag law and the mandatory listings for police calls more mandatory. The discretion that the Colorado Springs PD showed, in trying to provide kindness, there are five fewer people living today and many more living with horrific memories and wounds. There is no justification for that young man’s actions and he was only able to do what he did because gun laws are too lax. CBS reports that El Paso county has issued fewer red flag notices than any other county in Colorado. Not bad for the county for the second largest city in the state. Heavy sarcasm on that last sentence.
Well, there are some other news pieces for Colorado:
- In a similar vein as above, the Supreme Court heard another case, this time that isn’t even a case where someone has been harmed physically or mentally, but just because they might someday be harmed by those evil LGBTQ folk — www.dailykos.com/…. The Hate State is still alive and kicking people who don’t deserve it.
From December’s Trailblazing Women #2:
- December 7, 2020 – Gail M. Beaton published her book, Colorado Women in World War II, just in time for the commemoration of the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, which brought America into the war. Her book interweaves nearly eighty oral histories—including interviews, historical studies, newspaper accounts, and organizational records—and historical photographs (many from the interviewees themselves) to shed light on women’s participation in the war, exploring the dangers and triumphs they felt, the nature of their work, and the lasting ways in which the war influenced their lives. Beaton offers a new perspective on World War II—views from field hospitals, small steel companies, ammunition plants, college classrooms, and sugar beet fields—giving a rare look at how the war profoundly transformed the women of Colorado.
- From www.dailykos.com/… , a diary about Truth Sandwiches with stories inside about Colorado, another Colorado election clerk pleading guilty in exchange for testimony and also information about the recount between Frisch and Boebert (you thought, hoped and even prayed that this was all over, right?).
- April Siese has a good diary on the status of the Colorado River Compact, for managing the Colorado River in times of drought.
- Frank Vyan Walton has a diary about the people on the inside of the Capitol who helped the January 6th rioters. This includes Capitol police and Congressional reps like Lauren Boebert. The diary reminds us that Representative Boebert likely was the Congressional Rep who led a tour on January 5th which had people likely scouting for the next day’s riot, she tweeted the speaker’s location as no longer being within the chamber, she called that day a 1776 moment and she has done other things to support anti-government activities and attempt to bring ill repute onto Colorado and especially her district of western Colorado.
- I’m not quite sure why, but my town of Estes Park will be hosting Frozen Dead Guy Days for 2023. Apparently the festival manager and the town of Nederland (where the festival has taken place for nearly 30 years) have different priorities and originally the festival was going to be cancelled for 2023. However, the Estes Park tourist agency “Visit Estes Park” arranged with the festival to host it in 2023. It will take place over St. Patrick’s Day weekend. The news reports don’t seem to have provided word as to whether the actual frozen dead guy, Grandpa Bredo, will make an appearance in Estes Park or if he’ll remain at home in Nederland.
I could go on a bit more, but these stories provide a glimpse of Colorado’s place in the country. I welcome your comments down below, since the floor is yours...