After years of standing firm, my daughter used her super-powers of daddy-manipulation, and, well, I caved. We now have a dog.
I’m pretty sure it thinks its name is “No!” But get this, it came with the name “Gary.” Gary? Who names a dog Gary? Now when it gets out of the yard I’ll be running around the neighborhood yelling, “Gary! Gary!” like my gay boyfriend just ran out on me (not, not that there’s anything wrong with that).
My kids want to keep the wussy name, Gary. I want to change it to something like, “Obama Sucks,” so I can yell that around my Boulder neighborhood when he gets loose, or “Testicle Ripper,” for when boys come by for my daughter.
But again, I’m fighting a useless battle. At least I figure I can always eat the dog if times get tough.
Speaking of useless – as one reporter put it, “the least productive special session in Colorado History.” I couldn’t agree more.
Governor Hickenlooper called the special session, which ended yesterday with a spectacular “thud,” in order to “fix” a drafting error in the rushed Senate Bill 267 which blew a hole in our Taxpayer Bill of Rights. The “error” lowered, by a relatively little bit, RTD’s tax take. Senate Republicans did the right thing and killed the special session and the idea of raising taxes without a vote of the people.
Although this now begs a question: If senate Republicans yesterday respected RTD’s taxpayers enough not to raise their taxes $6 million a year without first asking their permission, why did they do just the opposite and raise Colorado’s taxes by a massive $600 million a year without our permission during the regular session?
Please read my latest for the Denver Post on this budget deception that has become the standard operating procedure for our state government.
And if you want to catch up on my ramblings in the Denver Post, I say the number one problem facing the country is the anemic rate of economic growth. And I suggest our once rugged state is turning bland thanks to the creeping nanny state.
Our Amy Cooke explains how Xcel is set to screw ratepayers yet again and our economist Linda Gorman shows how foreign health care is no model for the United States.
We’ll see you at the dog park!
Straight on,
Jon
