Approved

Buck: Woke school policies now sweeping Middle America

The Wall Street Journal, Approved, National / / , , , , ,

One question persists in American education: How pervasive are the stories of kindergartners learning about transgenderism or high-schoolers waving Hamas flags in hallways? Among the four million teachers in the U.S. there will inevitably be cranks and ideologues who mistake their lectern for a pulpit. Examination of a typical American school district in a typical American town reveals that the progressive mismanagement of school districts extends beyond the dark-blue borders of San Francisco and Portland, Ore.

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Tech industry outcry stalls Colorado’s AI law as Congress weighs ban on state regulations

DENVER7, Approved, National, State / / , , , , , , ,

DENVER — U.S. Congress is considering banning states from regulating artificial intelligence for the next 10 years, adding uncertainty to the future of Colorado’s AI law.

In 2024, Colorado became the first state to pass a comprehensive law regulating artificial intelligence.

“A.I. in general is just changing so rapidly all the time,” said State Rep. Brianna Titone, one of the prime sponsors of Senate Bill 24-205.

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Gaines: Colorado Public Radio takes a swing at ‘climate realism’—and misses

completecolorado.com, Approved, Commentary, National, State / / , ,

Have you heard of climate realism?  It varies depending on who uses it, but in general the term refers to acknowledging that while fossil fuels are contributing to climate change, it’s not an existential threat demanding immediate, drastic action.  It describes a view that the proper response to climate change is mitigating the downside while understanding that reliable, abundant and affordable energy from fossil fuels prevents a whole host of problems we could have if we simply left them in the ground.

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Memorial Day at Fort Carson reminds us what freedom truly costs

denvergazette.com, Approved, Local / / , , , ,

The first Fort Carson soldier to die in Iraq, Pfc. Jesse Givens, wrote those highly relatable words in his journal. And while his time in the Army was short, his sentiments resonate today, said Fort Carson’s Maj. Gen. David Doyle during a Thursday morning ceremony ahead of Memorial Day. 

“I took an oath to protect my country, not for the sake of saving the world, but for the hopes that my family wouldn’t have to live in a world filled with hate, fear or sadness, a world in which America can triumph,” Doyle said, quoting Givens’ journal. 

Givens died when his tank plunged into the Euphrates River, the general said. The soldier who had served for 15 months was recovered with a small pressed flower from Colorado with him.

Givens’ story is one of 407 represented by names on the memorial stones outside of Gate 1 — all died in the Global War on Terrorism from 2003 through 2019 from Fort Carson. Nationally, more than 7,000 service members died in the conflict. 

Doyle said he expects to spend the weekend remembering those he knew who died in the conflict and he encouraged others to take a moment to also reflect on the sacrifices of service members. 

“When I think about those soldiers that I served with who did not come home, I remember what made them excellent. I remember what made them the best in our country,” he said.

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Hunt: Governor signs laws advancing trans agenda, sparking constitutional challenge

TownHall.com, Approved, Commentary, State / / , , , , , , , , , , ,

Just as a refreshing wave of reality-based, commonsense policy seems to be sweeping the nation, Colorado lawmakers are doubling down on “trans” policies that can only be described as absurd, unconscionable and unconstitutional.

For those of us in Colorado who still believe in parental rights and free speech, the speed at which our state is descending into a dystopian nightmare is terrifying.

Here in Colorado, transactivists control the State House, the Senate, and the governor’s seat. Whatever they want to do, however far they want to push the envelope, they can, and they did this legislative cycle. Some of the bills are so radical that even California’s governor refused to sign similar legislation.

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Denver Public Schools leased schools through shell corporation, hiding almost $1B in off-book financing

denvergazette.com, Approved, Local / / , , , ,

Denver Public Schools has quietly taken on hundreds of millions of dollars in long-term debt without voter approval — money that could otherwise be used to lower class sizes, increase teacher pay or expand student support services, an investigation by The Denver Gazette has found.

The spending comes as contract negotiations between the district and the Denver Classroom Teachers Association (DCTA) have stalled, with union leaders pointing to the district’s failure to fully fund last year’s cost-of-living adjustment.

Educators have repeatedly called for smaller class sizes, better compensation and stronger student support — the very priorities that advocates say are undermined by rising lease payments tied to long-term debt.

To bypass the Colorado Constitution’s ban on assuming public debt without voter approval, DPS officials employed a workaround widely used in public finance circles but little understood by the public: transferring ownership of schools to a corporation, then leasing the buildings back for hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars.

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“Failure to Warn”: Senate report uncovers vaccine risk cover-up under Biden

The National News Desk, Approved, National / / , , , , , , , , , , ,

(TNND) — A new report from the Senate Homeland Security Committee accuses federal health agencies of failing to adequately warn the public about potential side effects of the COVID-19 mRNA vaccines, particularly the risk of myocarditis in young men. The report suggests that the Biden administration downplayed these risks to avoid increasing vaccine hesitancy.

Dr. Jordan Vaughn, President of the Microvascular Research Foundation, testified on Capitol Hill Wednesday, during the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations’ first hearing about the negative side effects of the COVID-19 vaccine, criticizing the decision by public health officials in 2021 not to issue a Health Alert Network message when increased risks from the COVID-19 vaccine became apparent.

“Literally the job of the FDA. The job of CDC is to actually regulate our products and inform practitioners and people about the dangers that they might see as soon as they see them,” said Vaughn. He added, “That health alert notice would’ve told physicians to be on the lookout for this because this is happening.”

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Governor rejects rideshare reform bill amid corporate exit warnings

denvergazette.com, Approved, State / / , , , , ,

Gov. Jared Polis on Friday vetoed House Bill 1291, a bill that would have put more teeth in regulating rideshare companies.

Sponsors heavily criticized the veto, saying his claims that he cares about victims fell short and that he didn’t engage with the sponsors on the bill until three days before the end of the session. 

House Bill 1291 was intended to beef up consumer protections for those who use ride share companies, such as Lyft and Uber. The bill would have required rideshare companies to conduct criminal background checks on drivers at least once every six months and review drivers who have had complaints filed against them by riders. If the company determined that the allegation is “more than likely to have occurred,” it would have had to deactivate the driver’s profile.

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Trump, Rubio move to dismantle ‘Deep State’ grip on national security

Axios, Approved, National / / , , , , ,

President Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have orchestrated a vast restructuring of the National Security Council, reducing its size and transferring many of its powers to the State and Defense departments.

Why it matters: Trump’s White House sees the NSC as notoriously bureaucratic and filled with longtime officials who don’t share the president’s vision.

A White House official involved in the planning characterized the reorganization as Trump and Rubio’s latest move against what they see as Washington’s “Deep State.”

“The NSC is the ultimate Deep State. It’s Marco vs. the Deep State. We’re gutting the Deep State,” the official said of the move, which will cut the NSC staff to about half of its current 350 members. Those cut from the NSC will be moved to other positions in government, officials said.

“The right-sizing of the NSC is in line with its original purpose and the president’s vision,” Rubio told Axios in a statement. “The NSC will now be better positioned to collaborate with agencies.”

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RFK Jr’s MAHA Report exposes health crisis tied to food, meds, and mandates

Daily Wire, Approved, National / / , , , , , , ,

Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Thursday released the highly anticipated MAHA Commission report, detailing findings on potential causes of the epidemic of Americans, particularly children, fighting chronic illnesses. 

The report, which is 68 pages long, details findings concerning ultra-processed foods, environmental toxins, stress, and the lack of physical activity, and reliance on medications and vaccines.

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