by Ashe in America | Jul 24, 2025 | Feature Story Bottom Left
ASHE IN AMERICA — OPINION
Attorney General of Colorado Phil Weiser is campaigning to be Governor. His campaign is clear that he sees no lines between his official authority and his political campaigning.
“Just over six months ago, we launched my campaign to serve as Colorado’s next Governor,” the Team Phil X account posted on X in early July. “Since then, you’ve all stepped up in incredible ways. Thank you. This graphic captures some amazing highlights of the last six months.”
Notice the top right square. “Filed 26 lawsuits and 14 amicus briefs to protect Colorado.”
First, that is a lot of legal actions. It’s lawyers and paralegals and experts and billable hours for both the state and federal government. It’s resources that could be used to fight crime, clean up Colorado streets, fix the homeless crisis, or help the women and children that politicians are always claiming to help.
But it’s not because, second, and more importantly, the lawsuits are predominantly (state) tax-payer funded temper tantrums demanding that (federal) taxpayers continue to fund the agenda they rejected in the last presidential election.
Colorado taxpayers have the grand fortune of funding both sides — the claims and the responses — of the 40(!) legal actions Phil has taken against the Federal government. We’re not even six months into the Trump Administration, and we’re funding 40 of Phil’s fever dreams.
And it’s all part of his campaign.
Is the campaign reporting the value it’s deriving at the hands of taxpayers? How many hours do law-abiding Coloradans have to work to fund just one of AG Weiser’s self-serving, campaign-related lawsuits?
Phil Weiser presents himself as a public servant rooted in justice, law, and innovation — fighting the good fight against the bad orange man to save some population of women or children or otherwise marginalized people. But his rise through the legal and political establishment reveals strategic political calculus.
Who is Phil Weiser?
A first-generation American and child of Holocaust survivors, Weiser earned his B.A. with high honors from Swarthmore College in 1990 and his J.D. with high honors (Order of the Coif) from NYU School of Law in 1994 — before embedding himself in the corridors of federal bureaucracy under both the Clinton and Obama administrations. In Colorado, he leveraged his legal reputation to become Dean of CU Law and eventually Attorney General in 2018.
His career reflects a typical trajectory of an establishment Democrat: technocratic, consensus-driven, and scandalous.
Weiser’s tenure has been dogged by ethical concerns and a pattern of insider politics. The most glaring example is his leadership of the Attorney General Alliance (AGA), a group that regularly hosts luxury conferences — like the infamous 2021 Maui summit — underwritten by corporations such as Meta, Pfizer, and Juul. These are the very companies his office is investigating or suing.
His fundraiser at the Maui resort is an obvious conflict of interest, yet Weiser has dismissed the criticism as partisan noise. He did that again with Jena Griswold.
In April 2025, Secretary of State Jena Griswold faced a campaign finance complaint for allegedly failing to file required financial disclosures tied to early campaign activity — specifically the purchase of a domain for a presumed run for governor. Attorney General Phil Weiser’s office, responsible for investigating the complaint, decided not to pursue charges. Totally coincidentally, Griswold is not running for Governor — Weiser is. Griswold is running for Attorney General — Weiser’s current seat. Those role changes shook out in the wake of the complaint dismissal.
Weiser for Governor?
Weiser’s fundraiser at the Maui resort sparked a formal campaign finance complaint, alleging unreported in-kind contributions, and cozy relationships with regulated entities. His decision to dismiss the complaint against Jena Griswold reveals a broader pattern of selective legalism — a strong focus on the rule of law that aligns and often serves his political interests. His current campaign messaging touting official (political) lawsuits as campaign accomplishments reinforces the pattern. Weiser is quite comfortable operating in the gray, seeming to blur the lines of justice with those of his own self-interest.
Time and again, Weiser has shown a willingness to apply legal scrutiny aggressively when it bolsters his progressive credentials — such as in high-profile lawsuits against the Trump administration — while showing restraint when allies are involved.
Regardless of his campaign messaging, Weiser is not a neutral legal steward, but an experienced and shrewd operator — weaponizing his power to serve selective, strategic ends. He is the last person who should be given more power.
Ashe in America is a writer and activist. Find all her work at linktree.com/asheinamerica
by Peter Boyles | Jul 24, 2025 | Blasting with Boyles
Blasting With Boyles
OPINION
Parallels Between Epstein And Denver’s Players And Sugar Scandal
Let’s see by a show of hands how many of you remember an infamous period in Denver history when we all discovered that Denver had four operating bordellos with a very high-class high end bold print names as clientele.
When you compare and contrast the Jeffrey Epstein story with Scotty Ewing and the rich and powerful of Denver, it amazingly lines up.
Post Watergate, when Gerald Ford was president, he held a meeting with Richard Helms the head of the CIA, his vice president Nelson Rockefeller, and Henry Kissinger. As the story goes Gerald Ford had discovered that Nixon was having the CIA open people’s first-class mail, wiretapping reporters, monitoring the anti-war efforts, and wiretapping citizens with no one’s knowledge.
Ford asked the CIA what would happen if that information got out. Helms replied a lot of dead cats are going to get out.
I always thought of that when it came to Scotty Ewing’s client list. If it ever got out a lot of dead cats were going to get out.
Since we were involved in the initial investigation, I called the Hancock number from Ewing’s list and — City Council member about to be Mayor — Michael Hancock’s voice answered. We knew we were on to something. Since then, comparing it to the Epstein story I’ve learned so much more.
Alan Dershowitz asserted at one time that he had seen the client list, but the Department of Justice and Pam Bondi say there is no such animal.
Scotty Ewing claimed his client list was stolen and there was a Denver police report that Ewing was a victim of a burglary. Stolen items did not include cash, jewelry, his iPad, his flat screen tv. Rather the burglars only made off with Scotty’s computer and the records from the former escort service.
Like the Epstein case, the Denver police announced they had also closed the investigation into the theft of Ewing’s records.
And the police cited lack of forensic evidence that there was actually a burglary. Scotty told me that he believed none of what was stolen would ever be returned. But at the same time, I talked to Channel Seven’s Tony Kovaleski who confirmed at the time that they saw the black book phone list of appointments, logs, scheduled bookings, and credit card slips of Players and Sugar.
Also recall Chief Federal Judge Edward Nottingham, naughty Nottingham. Documents in February of 2008 shut down the escort agency and the documents led to Nottingham’s resignation in 2008.
Sound familiar?
Many big Denver names were rumored to be on the stolen list, of course including Mayor-elect Michael Hancock. Now comes again parallel lives.
The present government officials who claim this is all absolutely false also remind me of Hancock’s campaign manager the legendary Evan “blow dryer” Dreyer who claimed the reports were untrue. And, that Michael, and the campaign, endured negative, false, deceptive attack after attack for months and none of us should believe it.
Again, sound familiar?
The protection, and I believe cover up, was done by The Denver Post, KUSA, and other sources.
One of the many internet rumors in the Epstein case was that the so-called client list was his insurance policy, or perhaps even blackmailing prominent world players.
I do know that when Scotty Ewing did my radio show, and management of KHOW tried desperately to stop Ewing’s appearance, including putting a little watchdog in the studio with me the day he came on, stated like Robert De Niro in Goodfellas you may know who I am, but I know who you are, and he aimed that at his johns who were listening to the show that morning.
After all of this, including charges of tax evasion and witness intimidation, Ewing did six months home detention. The woman he sold Players and Sugar to, Brenda Stewart, did six months. And Judge Nottingham will do the rest of his life.
But what does that say about the Epstein saga. Chuck Plunkett with The Denver Post wrote a column that tried to exonerate Hancock because they had spelled his name wrong in the book, and never mentioned our phone call on the air where Michael Hancock’s voice answered the phone number, and one of the working girls picked Hancock’s picture out of the lineup. The story in Denver was spiked.
And isn’t it amazing that after all these years not one of those names has ever appeared, not one customer/client has been revealed. Now will history repeat itself, and you and I never find out who flew to Jeffrey’s island, or visited him in New York or, for that matter, whether or not he killed himself.
—Peter Boyles
by Mark Smiley | Jul 11, 2025 | Travel
By Mark Smiley
Katy Perry returned to Ball Arena on July 10, 2025 after her original performance date was rescheduled. Perry’s Lifetimes Tour began in Mexico City on April 23, 2025. The concert had a futuristic “video game” theme where Perry plays a half‑human/half‑machine hero battling an AI villain who’s stolen butterflies.
Similar to Taylor Swift’s Eras tour, Perry rattled through each era of her music during her two-hour performance. The 25 song setlist included all of her hits such as Roar, Teenage Dream, California Gurls, and Firework (her closing number). It also included the deep track Not Like the Movies which she hasn’t performed live since 2012. Fans experienced the full breadth of her career—from early hits to new tracks.
The stage theatrics included wire‑flying, a lightsaber duel, metallic costumes, and intergalactic visuals. The effects included over 20 screens and large props. With all of the theatrics, Perry also took time to bring five kids on stage to ask them questions and have them perform with her. She also took a phone from a fan and took selfies and videos with it.
The tour will conclude on December 7, 2025. This tour supports her seventh studio album, 143. Visit www.katyperry.com/live for more information.
by Mark Smiley | Jun 20, 2025 | Uncategorized
Ideal For Dedicated Coffee Fans Who Enjoy A Proper Home Brewed Cup
by Mark Smiley
Making pour-over coffee at home is becoming more popular as prices rise at coffee shops around the Cherry Creek valley. Besides the savings, pour-over coffee at home offers several other advantages. It offers superior flavor control with control over the water temperature, coffee grind size, and brewing time. This results in a cleaner, more nuanced cup with clarity and complexity often lost in automatic machines.
Pour-over coffees also offer a level of freshness. You’re likely using freshly ground beans and filtered water. The result is a more aromatic, flavorful cup compared to pre-ground or store-bought coffee.
If you’re particular about taste or enjoy the craft of coffee making, pour-over is hard to beat. However, one disadvantage would be the time it takes to make those cups at home. That is where the xBloom Studio machine comes into play. xBloom is a premium specialty coffee system designed for home baristas who care about precision, flavor, and convenience. If you want café-quality pour-over with automation and the ability to customize every variable, this machine is worth a look.
xBloom Studio is an automated pour-over coffee machine with a built-in burr grinder, scale, and touchscreen. It supports three brewing modes: Autopilot, Copilot, and FreeSolo. The autopilot allows you to tap an NFC “xPod” card to pull a roaster-curated recipe, and the machine handles grind, water temp, pour pattern, and timing. The copilot mode allows for use of your own beans and the ability to customize every parameter via the xBloom app. The FreeSolo mode offers complete manual control using the machine’s onboard dials, grinder, and scale.
The system uses biodegradable whole-bean “xPods” with embedded RFID chips to automatically load brewing profiles; you can also pour in your own beans or use a Kalita dripper.
“As a dad of two, convenience is everything — and this machine delivers,” said Mark P., a Verified buyer of the xBloom Studio. “It’s incredibly easy time feels like a treat. I’m seriously wondering why I didn’t buy this earlier.”
The xBloom Studio has a built-in 48 mm conical burr grinder, 0‑2 kg scale (0.1 g resolution), touchscreen, and metal dials on the front for precise adjustments. With all of the components, it features a small footprint and is a sleek and stylish machine that looks good in any kitchen and does not take up a lot of space.
It features precision pouring and heats water instantly via nanofilm heating and delivers water in circular patterns while gently agitating the dripper for even extraction. The xBloom app connects via Wi‑Fi/Bluetooth to set up brew recipes, control every variable, monitor grind.
The xBloom Studio is one of the most advanced home pour-over systems available. It’s a strong pick for dedicated coffee fans who appreciate control and quality in a sleek package.
At time of press, the xBloom Studio retails for $599. Chronicle readers can use promo code Glendale-20 to receive $20 off their purchase. Visit www.xbloom.com to learn more and to purchase.
