This is the Colorado State Open Thread. Brought to you by the letters “O” and “T”, tonight’s edition has a tower in a photograph and I’m wondering if any of you have seen it, visited it or even been up inside of it. I have seen it countless times, but I have never stopped and visited it, let alone gone up inside of it. I would like to hear especially from anyone who has been up in it what they have seen, whether it was worth the time, trouble and expense, or if it was yet another roadside attraction that drags bored travelers off the highway of life in order to try and separate a few dollars from those weary folk.
Today’s Open Thread is written on Sunday while my guests from Kansas are catching up on some oxygen. They have both had Covid in the past and one of them has had additional health problems that are made worse by Colorado’s thin air. This is the first time she has had an oxygen boost bottle that are sold to visitors so they can get a hit of that sweet, sweet O2 that allows her blood to get enough oxygen so she doesn’t fall over and not get back up. She has now been here about 72 hours and she has another 12 to go, so I’m hoping she is able to keep making those red blood cells so they can catch up with her oxygen needs. I keep encouraging them to come and spend longer so they can do better with acclimatizing to the elevation, but since they’re still important to their jobs, they have limits to what they’re able to take for vacation.
There have been a number of headlines from Colorado over the last few weeks. I’ve included a few as links in the Open Threads, but this last week, for a change, it wasn’t Lauren Boebert leading the “Most Offensive Colorado Representative” challenge, but instead it was Ken Buck of the eastern plains district. He said that the Covid concern was badly overblown because a 79 year old man (meaning President Biden) was able to get back to work within a few days of catching the disease, so it isn’t nearly as bad as the President and democrats have made it out to be. I’m sure that’s of great comfort for the 589 who die every day from Covid 19 (avg. per day over last 7 days — CDC). President Biden has received two vaccinations, two boosters and has the best health care available, which unfortunately is not available to everyone else in the country. Ken Buck is 63 years old. I’d like to know if he wants to go catch Covid 19 and see if it truly is a nothing-burger or if he changes his tune. Oh, and he has only his current vaccine level (no idea what that is) and he doesn’t get his Congressional doctor and he can only get treated with the Republican standards of Ivermectin, bleach and UV lights shown into every orafice.
Well, here are a few more links for your reading (pleasure?):
Keep Colorado Blue in '22!
On this page you can donate to multiple Democratic candidates for both the Colorado state House and Senate all at once! By default, your donation will be split evenly among all the campaign accounts listed...as well as the CO Democratic Party, CO House Majority Project & DCCC!
By default, one share will also go to the Michigan Democratic Party, because I live in Michigan and we desperately need to flip our state legislature this year as well!
I've included the partisan lean ratings according to Dave's Redistricting.
- SD-03 (D+03): Nick Hinrichsen
- SD-08 (D+08): Dylan Roberts
- SD-11 (D+03): Tony Exum
- SD-15 (D+01): Lanice Marchman
- SD-20 (D+09): Lisa Cutter
- SD-24 (D+09): Kyle Mullica
- SD-27 (D+06): Tom Sullivan
- HD-013 (D+06): Julie McCluskie
- HD-016 (R+01): Stephanie Vigil
- HD-017 (D+12): Regina English
- HD-018 (D+02): Marc Snyder
- HD-019 (Even): Jennifer Lea Parenti
- HD-024 (D+09): Lindsey Daugherty
- HD-025 (Even): Tammy Story
- HD-026 (D+04): Meghan Lukens
- HD-027 (D+13): Brianna Titone
- HD-034 (D+08): Jenny Willford
- HD-037 (D+10): Ruby Dickson
- HD-038 (D+05): David Ortiz
- HD-043 (R+04): Robert Marshall
- HD-046 (D+06): Tisha Lyn Mauro
- HD-050 (D+05): Mary Young
- HD-057 (D+16): Elizabeth Velasco
- HD-059 (D+03): Barbara McLachlan
- HD-061 (D+02): Eliza Hamrick
- HD-062 (D+14): Matthew Martinez
And some more links...
I look forward to what has caught your attention these days. Here in Estes Park, we’ve been enjoying the warm weather (and enjoying that it’s not flirting with 100 degrees like it is “down in the valleys” and the afternoon monsoon rains (at least those not causing mud flows). The floor is yours.