by Ashe in America | Jul 20, 2023 | Feature Story Bottom Left
OPINION
New Party Leadership Inherits Financial Scandal
In the Colorado Republican leadership elections earlier this year, the establishment faced a reckoning. All over the state, America First patriots won county leadership roles, and the State GOP Chairman race resulted in grassroots favorite Dave Williams taking charge of the state party.
In another timeline, you could expect a peaceful transition of power from one leader of the party to another. We are talking about the leadership of a party, after all, a team with shared values and vision. But in this timeline, the Republican Party is engaged in a civil war.
When former Chairwoman Kristi Burton Brown left office, her administration claimed to have a surplus of more than one hundred thousand dollars. But according to Chair Williams, “The prior administration did not leave the Party over $100,000 as they falsely claimed.”
And they didn’t just mislead party members about the surplus. According to the new GOP Leadership Team, they spitefully spent it during the “peaceful transition of power.”
“They spent nearly all that was left in the coffers as the new leadership was transitioning into the role,” Williams said, continuing, “while burdening the party with outstanding debts and unfunded obligations.”
It sounds like sabotage, and the new GOP Chair is citing specifics:
“For example, thousands in bonuses were paid to former staff in December of 2022, after the Party suffered its most historic losses the month prior, and this occurred as the last administration knew they owed over $9,000 to the office landlord.”
Colorado Republicans squawked for more than a decade that the purpose of the party is to get Republicans elected. Under Brown’s leadership, they spent those resources fighting America First in the primary rather than allowing voters to decide. And then, of course and without much effort since they’d done their hard work during the primary, they lost competitive seats in the general. That is, they failed to get Republicans elected.
After failing to achieve their fundraising targets, presiding over hemorrhaging party membership, and delivering abysmal midterm election results, party leadership gave themselves bonuses — instead of paying known debts.
This isn’t just spiteful. It’s scandalous.
The Colorado Republican establishment — the likes of Brown’s administration and Buck’s before her, as well as their donors — are content being the minority party in the state. It is uniparty theater at its finest, half measures and fake compromises that benefit the ruling class at the expense of the people.
The people of Colorado — both those inside and outside of the Republican Party — are sick of all the communism. The people desire change. The party’s new Republican leadership wants to be that change, but they’ve got an uphill battle encumbered by brand and trust problems.
Colorado Republicans have spent so much time finding common ground with communists that they’ve made themselves repulsive to voters. And they don’t care. When they lose elections, they just toss up their hands and blame democrats. Then they pay themselves bonuses.
In February, grassroots Republicans flipped the uniparty’s script by electing America First change makers into party leadership. The financial scandal that the new leadership team inherited is obviously punishment for party members that dared to demand change.
Unfortunately for Colorado Republican Party members, there doesn’t appear to be recourse for the KBB and team looting the party’s resources like a mostly peaceful protest.
But unfortunately for the establishment, the new leadership of the party isn’t focused on fighting a detached and divisive civil war. They’re focused on the future. Chair Williams and his team want to be the change, and they appear unphased by the prior administration’s sabotage.
“The new leadership team is making progress and rebuilding the Party from the ground up,” Williams said. “We are treating the Party as a startup and making certain that any investment from donors is wisely spent instead of continuing to allow failed operators to enrich themselves with Party funds.”
In a startup culture you perform or peace out, a refreshing concept for a failing organization propped up by bureaucracy and mediocrity. But streamlining funding alone won’t rebuild public trust. For that, Williams and team need to prove to voters that the Republican Party is actually committed to a Republican form of government.
Ashe Epp is a writer and activist. You can find all her work at Linktree.com/asheinamerica.
by Glendale Sports Center | Jul 20, 2023 | Glendale City News
Discovering Life Lessons Through The Lens Of Fitness
by Claudia Morlan, YMCA of Metro Denver
Cycling class at the Arvada YMCA.
When Victoria Cardenas came to Denver from Mexico City in 1997, there were two things she wanted to learn how to do. The first was to ride a bike, which she learned from her husband Francisco Cardenas. The second was how to swim, a skill she gained through swim lessons at her local YMCA.
More than two decades later, Victoria is still using and enjoying both activities. She runs, bikes, and swims in triathlons, thanks to the same two people who encouraged her in the first place: Francisco and Elizabeth “Liz” Bravman, nutritionist and cycling instructor at the Arvada YMCA.
Every Thursday from 9 to 10 a.m., there’s a good chance you’ll find Victoria and Francisco pedaling in Liz’s cycling class, getting both sweaty and inspired. Francisco and Victoria have been members of the Y since 2001, and it was at the downtown Denver YMCA where Victoria learned to swim. Today, they frequent the Arvada-Ducan Y just a few minutes from their home.
“I went back to cycling about six months ago after I had gained some weight, and Liz Bravman at the Y has made all the difference,” said Francisco. “Liz is kind, giving, supportive and knowledgeable.”
“Liz is amazing. Go take a class with her and you’ll see how motivating and supportive she is,” echoed Victoria. “In class, Liz instructs us to set goals for ourselves and then gives us the motivation and encouragement to reach those goals. This is a great lesson to apply to my day-to-day schedule — set simple, achievable goals, and then enjoy the satisfaction of achieving them.”
As she sets goals for her students, Liz draws upon her own experience as a former Y student.
“Before I became a Y cycling instructor and nutritionist, I belonged to the Y, using my membership for its fantastic childcare and to improve my health,” recalled Liz.
As a mother of three, the Y became a “third place” for Liz, a bridge between home and her children’s school for workouts, stress relief, and opportunities to connect with others socially.
Now that she is an instructor, Liz’s approach is to “let [my students] know they are in control of everything in cycling class, including their goals, effort, and attitude. I always encourage people to find a small challenge for each day and try meet those challenges.”
“Our fellow students are awesome too,” Victoria added. “There’s no judgement, and we are supportive of each other — it’s not like a recreation center or fitness club where people just look down while they exercise and try to get out without interacting with another person.”
Francisco also noted the class camaraderie and support. “Liz sets an environment where everyone is welcome regardless of ability. She plays a killer variety of music including hip hop, classic rock, and even a little country. I work out harder in a group environment, and because cycling is a low-impact exercise, I don’t have any issues with my joints or ligaments, like I did when I ran.”
According to Francisco and Victoria, classes with Liz are not just about fitness. They are about taking the lessons and motivation from the exercise classroom and applying them to life.
“Both Victoria and I have gained so many benefits from Liz’s cycling class — physically, emotionally. When we go to the Y, we eat better, our days are better, we smile more, and I’m a kinder person,” said Francisco.
Liz sees these lessons as key motivations and benefits of cycling. “Cycling class is a metaphor for life: How we push ourselves inside and outside of class. Cycling transcends physical and mental challenges. I’s very empowering to move your body. Everybody should try it. It’s low impact and good on the joints, and you’re never too young or too old to cycle. You can push yourself as hard as you want.”
Indoor cycling is available at the Arvada, Aurora, Littleton, Southwest, and University Hills YMCAs. Learn more about the YMCA’s cycling and other exercise offerings at den verymca.org or the Meet & Cycle classes at the Glendale Sports Center at Infinity Park at sportscenterglendale.com.
by Charles Bonniwell | Jul 20, 2023 | Editorials
Mike Johnston is sworn in as the 46th Mayor of Denver on July 17, 2023.
Although the Biden Administration may dispute it, most people would view seven million people illegally crossing the United States southern border in the last several years as a financial disaster. That does not mean that there is not a lot of money to be made from it. Certainly, the Mexican drug cartel bringing fentanyl and other drugs, the coyotes smuggling in illegal immigrants, the nonprofit groups sheltering the immigrants once they cross, and the federal contracts paid to disburse them throughout the country; all are doing very well indeed.
Denver has absorbed only a small fraction of the recent immigrants with Denver officials estimating approximately 1,200 at any one time with the cost estimated to be up to $1,000 per immigrant per week (an estimated $17 million total). The immigrants have been housed in recreation centers and anywhere else space could be found.
The Hancock Administration in its final days wanted to burden the new Johnston administration with a one-year contract with GardaWorld Federal Services to operate a single 1,000-person shelter with intake services, food, and transportation for $40 million.
Denver’s nonprofit world went bonkers. They screamed about the city of Denver hiring a Canadian detention company with an awful record of waste and abuse when they could provide an equal amount of waste and abuse with money staying right here in Denver. Sometimes people fail to comprehend that “nonprofit” is simply a federal tax status and the people running them are every bit as rapacious and money hungry as their counterparts in the for-profit world.
At $40,000 per immigrant, per year, there is plenty of gravy to go around, especially considering that many more shelters will probably be needed and for an indefinite period of time. Moreover, the educational and health needs of every immigrant will also need to be provided.
Luckily, our new mayor Mike Johnston has indicted that he can solve all these problems, as well as the indigenous homeless quagmire, all in a single year with his tiny homes and other programs. Previous mayor, now Senator, John Hickenlooper had promised he would end homelessness in a decade, but later said that was just sales puffery for the always gullible Denver residents.
With Mike Johnston being sworn in on July 17, 2023, it is exciting to know that all these problems, some of which have plagued mankind since civilization began, will be solved in less than one year. In the meantime, don’t you be handing out any lucrative contracts. Keep the largesse right here in Denver, on the off chance that the problems might go on slightly past July 16th of 2024.
— Editorial Board
by Peter Boyles | Jul 20, 2023 | Blasting with Boyles
OPINION
This is one of the few times that I’ve had arguments with myself on what to title our award-winning column that appears here in the Glendale Cherry Creek Chronicle. I first wanted to call it The Organ Recital. Next, I wanted to dub it Polishing the Brass on the Titanic. And I settled on He Has Good Color.
When my father passed away due to a massive third heart attack in Saint Margaret’s Hospital in Pittsburgh, there was a waiting room with a gaggle of women whose husbands had had cardiac arrests and were probably waiting for the Reaper. But they always made a point of going in and looking at the other women’s husbands and coming back offering words of encouragement, “He has good color.” And that poor old bastard would go climb Space Mountain by the next day.
I just had a very frightening medical experience. Mind you I’m pushing 80, as legendary biker builder Jeff Decker said to me, name another person who has a radio show when they’re almost 80, and all I could think of was Bob Hope.
I’d been having a very hard time physically these last couple of months and for whatever reason I was choosing to ignore it. What I didn’t realize at the time, I was headed into congestive heart failure.
I’ve always been very close to Dr. Julie McCallen at Cenegenics. She’s been such a wonderful healer in my life but has taken semi-retirement. She was in her clinic on a day that sh
e wasn’t really supposed to be there. In fact, she was supposed to be in Europe. I pretty much had enough of my hard time functioning and went to see the folks at the clinic and lo and behold, Julie McCallen was there. They sent me immediately to the ER.
The publisher of this newspaper and I share, and have dubbed him, “cardiologist to the stars,” Dr. Nelson Prager. Dr. Prager and the staff at Medical Center of Aurora, after a nine-day stay, really did put together a diagnosis of everything that was going on with me.
I can’t fix cars anymore. When I open the hood of the truck or look at a motorcycle engine I’m totally baffled. But there was a time when we could do points and plugs and oil change, a new condenser, and we could do our own tune-up in the backyard,
I firmly believe that all of us do need that tune-up and I’m lucky I caught mine in time. Things look good.
The next thing I realized is with my inner circle of friends, I’ve dubbed it the organ recital. A group of men, we used to talk about women, politics, music, sports, using intoxicants, often times illicit. Now it begins with, “How’s your liver? How’s your colon? How’s your heart and are you breathing well enough?” We’re reciting the conditions that our organs are in. And hence, as Patsy Ramsey wrote, it’s the organ recital.
And finally, when my daughter picked me up from the hospital, and I got in her car, and we’re driving home I said to myself, “Am I just polishing the brass on the Titanic?” I’m clearly on the back nine.
I made even more changes in my life ,and something that I never thought I would do — I ordered a three-wheeled motorcycle. And I’m gonna live forever. I’m gonna learn to fly. And we can’t make Denver and Colorado politicians crazy if we don’t have this column and a weekly radio show.
I dodged a bullet and once again I call myself the luckiest guy I’ve ever known.
— Peter Boyles
