Tuesday, March 9, 2021

A Few Thoughts for Tuesday

So, I have a few blog posts waiting for development, but there are a few things on my mind today that I think are worth sharing.

First of all is my uncertain thoughts about Colorado politics and the 2022 governor's race. Everyone in the state who pays attention to politics knows that Republican George Brauchler, former district attorney for the 18th district, is clearly running for governor, though he hasn't announced his candidacy. Instead he has been writing regular columns for the Denver Post criticizing the current Democratic governor Jared Polis. And I have to admit I'm a bit torn by Brauchler basically running for governor via the Denver Post Opinion page. Granted, I think Brauchler-Polis will be a great race, and it's true that Governor Polis has the pulpit now. But this commentary campaign is a bit unseemly, and from a journalistic view it seems ... inappropriate.

Secondly, according to political writer Laura Bassett, "HuffPost employees, after a year of working through a pandemic that isn't over, were invited to a meeting today with the password "spring is here," where they were told 47 of them would be laid off. They would only know if they still had a job if they didn't receive an email by 1." And, while I agree with Bassett that the HuffPost's action was "cruel, psychotic, and ridiculous," I will go farther and say "The Huffington Post is an insult to journalism for the way it has exploited writers and obscenely profited from free labor and by using them to produce clickbait. I’ve long refused to read or support that organization." Arianna Huffington should be ashamed of herself and the machine she created. Truly, no writers should condone, read, work for, or acknowledge such a crass group.

Finally, for some positive news, CNN's new show "Searching for Italy" with Stanley Tucci is a wonderful production that I highly recommend. Of all my travels, Italy is the one place I would and will return to again and again. This travel-food show is a truly decadent pleasure. And Stanley Tucci could entertain me by just reading the side of cereal box.

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