Another Hump Day!

There was snow falling last night fast and furious. Total accumulation was approximately 1-2 inches but as of this writing it has all melted.

Notes from the Home Front

I did call the number obtained from Ohio University of the Master Gardner but they are only in the office on Mondays and Fridays between the hours of 9am-noon and again on the 1st Wednesday of each month from 4pm to 7pm. I'll have to find another way to get information on the cucumber transplant.

There has been no additional news on application statuses for jobs.

Wednesday is phone call day

I have made the appropriate phone calls to Colorado's US Senators and Representatives. Today, it came to my attention that some staff members are uninformed or just don't know what their politician stands for. Is this becoming a problem? My opinion is YES! Other staff members are very informed and pass along good information. Thank goodness for them.

Here are the results of my calls: Please note that the comments written under each politicians name are short comments written so that I understood what I was told. Also, I told each staff member that their comments would be written on my blog (yes, I read the comments back to them for clarity).


5/12/10
11:57am
Michael Bennet - call (202) 224-5852 DC office
- unknown stand on Tier 5 extension
- will pass on my comments
- mentioned US of A first before Greece bailout

12:12pm
Mark Udall - 202-224-5941 DC office
- does not know his stand on Tier 5 extension
- will pass comment on
- mentioned US of A first before Greece bailout


12:13pm
- Diana DeGette - District 1 (202) 225-4431
- have not received email from last weeks phone call
- will pass along comments to Diana
- mentioned US of A first before Greece bailout
- doesn't know stand on Tier 5 and extensions

12:14pm
- Jarod Polis - District 2 (202) 225-2161
- re: Tier 5 bill is on floor - taking time to read bill before voting on it
- will pass on my comments

12:19pm
- John Salazar - District 3 (202) 225-4761
- will send my comments to John
- mentioned US of A before Greece bailout

12:22pm
- Betsy Markey - District 4 (202) 225-4676
(personal comment - this staff member was knowledgeable and interesting)
- not sure of how she is voting on extensions on unemployment - checking with someone else - Tier 5 is not on the floor at this time. She is supporting further unemployment because people are hurting now
- still creating jobs creation
- IMS - International Monetary System is funded by other countries as well as the USA and that is where a bailout for Greece will come from

12:33pm
- Doug Lamborn - District 5 (202) 225-4422
- doesn't know what his stand on Tier 5 is
- voted negatively on other unemployment extension issues
- full support of taxes cuts and relief for small businesses and individuals - has co-sponsored bills on this
- never voted on tax increase

12:39pm
- Mike Coffman - District 6 (202) 225-7882
- has concerns over it - Tier 5 - will look it back over
- job creation - is for it

12:45pm
- Ed Perlmutter - District 7 (202) 225-2645
(personal note - this staff member was partially rude)
- job creation - doesn't know - refer to website
- Tier 5 - no information

Home Depot and Customer Service

The customer service in my local store is EXCEPTIONAL. Everyone that I came in contact with was more than helpful and friendly. It was nice to be approached when looking for a variety of items.

In my search for a nice sized patio set for my balcony, one had been found through Home Depot's email advertisement. That same day, I called and ordered it - this patio set was inexpensive compared to others I had seen in other stores both in person and online and best of all, FREE SHIPPING. I received the patio set in a few days, it's sturdy and comfortable.

Today, I called to pay my bill, can you imagine that they were going to charge me $14.95 to process my payment! Somethings are best done online or by going to the store to save money.

To my surprise, the customer service in the store, on the order line, and when calling to make a payment was given with the utmost respect for the customer.

Do you have a store like Home Depot that you'd recommend to others?

Received from ProgressNow Colorado via email

With the 2010 Colorado legislative session coming to a close, here is a list of winners and losers among your Colorado State Representatives and Senators--who stood up to do right by their constituents and our state's future, versus those who devoted the session to pandering and disingenuous partisan politics. We are proud of the hard work done by our progressive majority this session, from renewable energy and clean air to improving health care. Please enjoy this brief summary of those you have to thank--and those you don't.

Sincerely,

Bobby Clark
Executive Director

WINNERS Gail Schwartz - The Green Machine An undisputed leader on green jobs bills this legislative session, and a key supporter of renewable energy and clean air legislation. Gail Schwartz's bravery in 2010 will benefit all of Colorado for generations to come. Bruce Whitehead - Freshman of the year Sponsor of two of the most important bills in recent memory, the Clean Air Clean Jobs Act and House Bill 1001 (renewable energy standards), Bruce Whitehead has emerged as an inependent power in the Senate--and forceful advocate for his Southwest Colorado district. John Morse - The most courageous man at the Capitol Senator John Morse carried legislation to bring health care jobs to underserved communities. He was a strong advocate for criminal justice interests. And above all, Morse was fearless in calling out the right wing on their disingenuous tactics and misrepresentations throughout the session. Sara Gagliardi - The best friend of health care jobs Three bills sponsored by Rep. Gagliardi this session: HB10-1138 and SB10-058, concerning student loan reimbursement for health workers, and HB10-1415 in support of health worker safety, demonstrate her commitment to protecting patients, health care workers, and the industry as a whole. Dianne Primavera - Cancer fighter extraordinaire Rep. Primavera sponsored HB10-1252, which mandated that mammograms be made available to all women regardless of age. She sponsored legislation to better cover medication for specific cancers, and above all sponsored Senate Bill 10-002, fighting insurance company claim denials. Debbie Benefield - Education specialist Rep. Debbie Benefield has sponsored too many excellent education bills to count over the years. This session, her work on early childhood education and preserving K-12 funding in the present recession were as much as her constituents could ever ask for. And her popular gift card consumer protection bill shouldn't be overlooked, either. Max Tyler - The House's freshman star Rep. Max Tyler has quickly established himself as one of the most thoughtful and articulate members of the Colorado House. His leadership on House Bill 10-1001, the renewable energy standards bill, was key to its success. Al White - The Budget Pragmatist Republican Sen. Al White, a member of the Joint Budget Committee, dramatically pled with fellow Republicans to support the hard choices made to balance this year's budget. White ultimately did not succeed in convincing his colleagues to put principle over partisanship, but he deserves credit for trying.

LOSERS Senate Minority Leadership Under Senate Minority Leader Josh Penry's leadership, what might have been a useful and constructively engaged minority turned into cynical right-wing "no" chorus. The Senate Minority is now composed of ideologues who came over from the House--Dave Schultheis, Bill Cadman, Kevin Lundberg, and Ted Harvey, together with the new generation of crazy, Scott Renfroe and Mike Kopp. Add that to Penry's pandering, trafficking false information and extremism, and endless invective at the majority on the taxpayer dime, and you've got the whole sorry picture. Cory Gardner - The "King of Self-Inflicted Wounds" Cory Gardner seems to be too busy jetting off to Washington D.C. for fundraisers to represent his constituents this year. Gardner missed at least six days of the legislative session in order to campaign for office. Of course, When Gardner does manage to show up, it's not much better for his rural Eastern Plains district, as with his vote to cut the already-underfunded Agriculture Department. Ellen Roberts - Damage Control #FAIL Ellen Roberts is a politician who tries, and fails, to be everything to everyone. Faced with a challenge from her right, Roberts sponsored a terrible bill from the insurance industry that would have stopped attempts by other legislators to improve health care in Colorado. Despite her pandering to the far right, Roberts is still in danger of losing to a Tea Party candidate. Kevin Lundberg - Worst Poster Child Ever Lundberg needs no introduction. One of the Colorado General Assembly's most outspoken climate change deniers and general purpose right wing radicals, Lundberg had a big legislative session this year--trashing the League of Women Voters, defending Xcel Energy (a monopoly) in the name of the "free market," and condemning as "socialism" a budget that was in fact cut by hundreds of millions of dollars. Spencer Swalm - "Mr. Compassion" Known in the legislature as the #1 water carrier for the insurance industry, insurance agent-by-day Spencer Swalm never missed an opportunity to fight against improving access to health care, and even suggested that instead of a tax break for the poor, we should tell them to not "have babies out of wedlock." Dave Balmer - Returns (some) calls Dave Balmer has one of the more interesting backgrounds of any of the right wingers in the legislature, but as an elected official in Colorado's legislature he has proven to be shamelessly corrupt and beholden to the interest he raises money from. This year, Balmer actually interrupted a hearing to call a major donor on his cell phone for advice on a vote. Shawn Mitchell - The "Beavis and Butthead" Prize No list of "losers" from a Colorado legislative session is complete without Shawn Mitchell. Starting with disruptive and unstatesmanlike behavior during the Pinnacol hearings late last year--even making degrading remarks about the underwear of female Senators--to his insistence on dragging petty electioneering onto the floor of the Colorado Senate, Mitchell takes "boorish" to new and truly embarrassing levels.

The one person I don't see on the WINNERS list and should be is Senator Morgan Carroll of District 29. Anyone who knows her, she is an asset to our state and to her constituents.

Cell Phones, Texting and Driving

Channel 9 News (Denver) has their Great Hang Up campaign. Oprah Winfrey has her No Phone Zone Pledge.

While I agree with the pledges and have been irritated by many cell phone users on the road, in my case, I use a cell phone headset and/or bluetooth and have since they were available. The worst thing to me is to have to hold my phone while driving - I just don't do it. As for texting, (I don't like texting, period!) no one should text and drive - how stupid are people to take their eyes off the road and not pay attention to what is going on around them?

BREAKING NEWS

From CNN, Anderson Cooper reports on AC 360 - Arizona Bans "ethnic studies", read the bill here.

Have comments? Please use the comment box below!

As always,

STAND UP AND BE HEARD!