Colorado Christmas: News Miner 34

The season, the cold, death, taxes, and more.

There’s a whole lot going on in Colorado that’s stacked up in my notes. But it’s Christmas Eve-Eve, so I figure you all want to read a long post about as much as I want to write one. So I hope you enjoy my brief notes today, and I’ll get back to it after Christmas. Happy holidays!

Christmas in Colorado

Complete Colorado published my seasonal piece, in which I touch on the legislature, refugees, clemency, space, and other topics. Here’s how I begin:

The beetle-kill pine logs crackle in the fireplace. The stereo hums with the voices of Face Vocal Band, Angus Mohr, and other Colorado holiday favorites. Gift shoppers traipse through the cold wearing their down jackets with shorts and flip-flops. Skiers and snowboarders gaze longingly at the slopes as they drive a mile an hour up I-70. It is Christmastime in Colorado.

I also write, “Democratic law makers prepare to sit at Jared Polis’s knee and ask him to grant every wish from their interest groups, even though he is all dressed up as a libertarian.”

Read the entire piece.

My Wiggy’s Jacket

I put on my Grand Junction-made Wiggy’s arctic jacket to shovel snow in the sub-zero temperatures. But, with the sun out, once I started working, I overheated and had to shed it. It’s good to have for the most extreme conditions.

Quick Takes—Colorado

Home Sale Tax: An “anonymous group” is promoting the following ballot measure for next year, Andrew Kenney reports: “Whenever a property is sold, the purchaser would have to pay a fee worth 0.1 percent of the sales price. The first $200,000 of the value, however, would be exempted from the fee.” This is bad policy. We need a far simpler tax structure, not a more complex one. And the fundamental problem with the supply and expense of housing is that government regulations restricting the development and use of property. Let’s fix the root problem!

Legislature: “Do no harm,” the Colorado Chamber of Commerce begs the legislature. (I don’t have an opinion about the group’s specific recommendations.)

Active Shooter Training: Denver’s Office of Emergency Management is hosting a class on ways to prevent mass murders and mitigate the harm.

Stereotypes: This is quite the unfortunate story: “Aurora City Councilman and restaurateur [Steve Sundberg] apologizes for past videos where he dressed in racist caricatures.”

Charter Schools: The Independence Institute explains the chartering system.

Clemency: Congratulations to Elisabeth Epps for successfully promoting clemency for several individuals. See Epps’s Tweet and the governor’s release.

Water: What? “Colorado is forcing a group of farmers to reduce irrigation but hasn’t stopped watering its own fields,” reports KUNC.

Utility Bills: Natural gas hikes are behind “soaring” energy bills for Coloradans, reports the Colorado Sun. But the very-high bills mentioned in the article (some over a thousand dollars!) do not square with my own experience or with what my neighbors are telling me. Things like insulation, quality windows, and thermostat settings make a huge difference.

Quick Takes—General

Fusion: Robert Zubrin explains the context and significance of the National Ignition Facility’s fusion reaction.

Persuasion: Tim Minchin goes on an epic rant to the effect that people can’t foster empathy and understanding by demonizing their ideological opponents. Generally I agree; however, sometimes it’s necessary to call a fascist a fascist. It’s not demonization of the characterization is true, and some people are beyond rational persuasion.

Drag: “Some conservatives toss ‘parents’ rights’ out the window in a holiday culture war against kids at live [drag queen] shows,” Scott Shackford writes.

Libertarians: Recently the Libertarian Party called supporters of Ukraine’s Zelensky “traitors.” Matt Zwolinski replied, “It’s odd, isn’t it, that of all the things the Libertarian Party could criticize about our government, they choose to focus so much attention on its efforts to protect individuals in their lives, liberties, and possessions.” Timothy Sandefur replied, “All my life I've been embarrassed by the grotesque self-parody that is the Libertarian Party, but never moreso than today.”

Conservatives: Aaron Ross Powell is one of the better libertarians. In a podcast episode with Powell, Paul Matzko discusses the American conservative movement. He makes a couple of important points. Generally, the left has been more amenable to liberty over the last few decades, and the right less amenable, than people in the “fusionist” movement tend to recognize. And Trumpism has deep roots in American conservatism, particularly in the sort of conspiracy mongering that the Birchers made popular.

Death: The final episode of the remarkable National Geographic documentary Limitless, featuring Chris Hemsworth of Thor fame, offers a profound meditation on death. A researcher puts Hemsworth in an “aging suit,” enrolls him in an elderly care facility for three days, and puts him through a mock death. Along the way Hemsworth talks with several people who share insightful stories related to aging and death. This is, to my mind, far and away Hemsworth’s best work. He is more than a superhero: He is a human being.