Anne Landman

Advertising, Democracy, Embarrassing Republicans, Firearms, politics, Violence

Mesa County residents and Mad Dog PAC put up gun control billboard in G.J.

by Anne Landman • August 17, 2019 • 3 Comments

Mesa County residents fed up with the national epidemic of gun violence in the U.S. are teaming up with Mad Dog PAC of Washington, D.C. to run a billboard in Grand Junction aimed at pressuring congressional Republicans to address the national epidemic of gun violence and rampant mass killings happening around the country.

The billboard targets Colorado’s Republican Senator Cory Gardner in particular, who is up for re-election in 2020 and is known for taking no action and offering only prayers, platitudes and condolences after every mass killing that occurs.

The Democratic-led House of Representatives has already passed effective gun control legislation, but Senator Mitch McConnell (Republican, KY), Majority Leader of the Senate, has blocked the bill from coming to a vote to appease the National Rifle Association which works to stop legislation aimed at making Americans safer from gun massacres.

The anti-Cory Gardner/gun control message will be on the billboard on I-70B in front of Sprouts and Rimrock Marketplace, on the board facing west, where it will be visible to drivers coming into Grand Junction. The message will be up for one week starting next Tuesday, August 20, and will stay up longer if donations are received to keep it up longer. If enough funds are received the message will also go up on additional boards around town.

Contact Anne Landman for information on how to donate to the billboard campaign.

Crazy Republicans, Cronyism, Deplorables, Elections, Embarrassing Republicans, Environment, Extremism, politics, Worker advocacy

Job openings with the county pay $87,500/year plus benefits and require no experience

by Anne Landman • August 14, 2019 • 3 Comments

Salaries for each of the three Mesa County Commissioners for the month of June, 2019

Mesa County has two job openings right now that pay $87,300/year gross salary with additional generous perks and benefits, and that require absolutely no experience and no required level of educational attainment. That’s a pretty good wage in Mesa County for someone with no experience and no particular educational attainment, since the wages here are so low compared to the rest of the state. (The average weekly wage in Denver in the last quarter of 2018 was $1,414. In Mesa County it was $895). The opening is for two new county commissioners. The only requirements to be county commissioner — literally — are that you have to be a minimum of 18 years old and have lived in either County Commissioner District 1 or District 3 for at least one year. That’s it. In case you don’t believe me, the photo above gives the salaries for each of our three county commissioners for just one month — the month of June, 2019. The information was printed in the legal notices in the Sunday, August 11, 2019 issue of the Daily Sentinel. You can see the minimal requirements for the job yourself posted on Mesa County’s website. Multiply the above salary by 12 to get your new annual gross salary if you land this job ($87,500/year). Oh, and did I mention it’s also free to apply? You can even have a criminal record and it’s okay. This position can be held for up to 8 years.

It’s time to admit Republican firearm policies have completely failed America

by Anne Landman • August 13, 2019 • 1 Comment

Americans young and old are getting slaughtered every day just going about their daily lives shopping in supermarkets, attending concerts and movies, going to services at churches, mosques and synagogues, going to school, going to work…

How did America get here?

Decades of Republican-backed liberal firearm policies have gotten us here. Republicans say they value freedom, but the people of this country no longer feel free. We live in fear of getting gunned down just living our lives every day because of the cumulative effects of liberal Republican gun policies.

Tim Foster’s political stumping as CMU president may violate laws

by Anne Landman • August 13, 2019 • 7 Comments

Ad posted by Janet Rowland may violate the Hatch Act and the Fair Campaign Practices Act

[Update 8/14/19: Mesa County Commissioner candidate Janet Rowland pulled this ad from her Facebook page after this article was published].

People are questioning whether an ad that Mesa County Commissioner candidate Janet Rowland recently posted on her campaign Facebook page violates the law.

In the ad, Colorado Mesa University President Tim Foster endorses Rowland for commissioner in his capacity as president of CMU, not as a private individual as the law requires. The law says Foster is permitted to make such an endorsement, but ONLY in his capacity as a private individual; he is specifically prohibited from using his position as a state employee for politicking or attempting to influence an election.

The ad appears to violate two separate federal laws: the Hatch Act and the Fair Campaign Practices Act.

Technical guidance issued for state employees by the Colorado’s Division of Human Resources (pdf) on the implementation of these laws states,

“The Hatch Act limits the political activities of individuals employed in state departments and higher education institutions (departments) that have programs financed in whole or in part by federal loans or grants.”

CMU accepts federal funding, thus Foster is subject to both laws.

Grand Junction’s growing illegal fireworks problem

by Anne Landman • July 29, 2019 • 6 Comments

Kids playing with illegal fireworks on 7/4/2019 started a fire that threatened to burn eight houses on the Redlands.

Independence Day in Mesa County offers fun and entertainment for many, but also causes fear, anxiety, property loss and taxpayer expense from fires and injuries.

This year, kids playing with illegal fireworks started a wildfire that endangered eight houses on the Redlands. The residents were briefly ordered to evacuate.

Wife of CMU Vice President given vacant seat on G.J. Regional Airport Board

by Anne Landman • July 22, 2019 • 3 Comments

John and Linde Marshall (Photo: Facebook)

Eight people applied for the open at-large seat on the Grand Junction Regional Airport Board, and it was awarded to just one, Linde Marshall, who happens to be married to Colorado Mesa University Vice President of Student Affairs, John Marshall. According to CMU’s website, Linde Marshall also works for CMU, in the office of University President Tim Foster.

The Daily Sentinel for some reason failed to mention either of Linde Marshall’s important connections to CMU and it’s powerful president and rainmaker, Tim Foster when providing descriptions of the candidates for the seat. The Sentinel only said Ms. Marshall is “a small business owner with a background in public relations.” Seems like important info to omit.

“Incredibly political”: Grand Junction’s newest City Councilman selected after heavy pressure on mayor

by Anne Landman • July 18, 2019 • 17 Comments

Grand Junction’s newest City Council member, Kraig Andrews (right), pictured here with Donald Trump Jr. Councilman Duke Wortman lamented that City Council has gotten “incredibly political,” but then made it political by pushing to select a candidate with low initial support, but a solid Republican background. [Photo: Facebook]

The Grand Junction City Council voted last night to fill the vacant District E seat, but only after a tense session in which one council member publicly pressured another to change his vote after the six council members deadlocked four times in trying to choose a candidate.

The meeting started congenially enough as each council member was allowed to name up to three of their favorite candidates from among the pool of people who applied for the vacant seat. The top three vote-getters in the first round continued on to the next round of voting, and that’s where the trouble started.

What to do if ICE comes knocking: Know your rights

by Anne Landman • July 14, 2019 • 0 Comments

On the same day Trump’s raids on immigrant families are scheduled to start (today), Trump issued a series of tweets that make his racism very clear:

“So interesting to see ‘Progressive’ Democrat Congresswomen, who originally came from countries whose governments are a complete and total catastrophe, the worst, most corrupt and inept anywhere in the world (if they even have a functioning government at all), now loudly…… ….and viciously telling the people of the United States, the greatest and most powerful Nation on earth, how our government is to be run. Why don’t they go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came. Then come back and show us how……..it is done. These places need your help badly, you can’t leave fast enough. I’m sure that Nancy Pelosi would be very happy to quickly work out free travel arrangements!”

Trump and his administration are working to create terror in immigrant communities throughout the U.S. by directing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) carry out sweeping “family op” raids across the country on undocumented immigrant families who have been in the United States for years.

Thousands attend Pride Parade 2019 in downtown Grand Junction

by Anne Landman • June 24, 2019 • 2 Comments

It was all about love and acceptance for the crowds lining Main Street for downtown Grand Junction’s annual Pride Parade on Saturday, June 23, the biggest and best yet, with thousands of people attending. The weather was clear, sunny and a perfect 75 degrees. The parade route went from First and Main and Streets east along main to 6th Street.

Attendees cheered 23 floats, including entries from the First Congregational Church, the American Lutheran Church and the Grand Valley Interfaith Network. Residents of Delta had a float in this year’s parade, as did a Cosplay group, and a group called Coffee and Civic Action (CACA) that meets Thursday mornings at Main Street Bagels to write to elected representatives and advance progressive causes. The costumes were exotic and spectacular and rainbows were everywhere.

The 5 Minute Mueller Report

by Anne Landman • June 2, 2019 • 18 Comments

Special Counsel Robert Mueller stated that after two years of investigation, his team was unable to exonerate President Donald J. Trump of committing crimes.

Don’t have time to read the whole 420-page Mueller Report (pdf)? That’s understandable.

You can download an audio recording of it for FREE and listen to the whole thing while you’re driving, doing housework or exercising. A free recording of it available here, on Audible.

If you don’t have time to read or listen to the whole thing, but still want to know why it’s such a big deal and why everyone is talking about it, here’s a quick summary:

The U.S. has a measles epidemic, but is it in Grand Junction?

by Anne Landman • May 30, 2019 • 3 Comments

States where measles outbreaks have occurred in the U.S. as of May 24, 2019

The growing number of unvaccinated people in the U.S. has led to the largest outbreak of measles in the U.S. since the disease was declared eradicated in 2000. Cases of measles have been reported in Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Mexico, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Tennessee, and Washington state.

According to the Mesa County Health Department, there have been no cases of measles reported so far in Grand Junction, and only one case in Denver in January, 2019. But don’t let that make you complacent. People travel widely to and from stricken areas, and could bring the epidemic to Colorado large scale at any time. Measles is an extremely contagious viral disease. When a person with measles leaves a room, people who enter that room afterwards can catch the disease for up to two hours after the infected person has left.

There’s a seat on Grand Junction Regional Airport Board up for grabs

by Anne Landman • May 27, 2019 • 1 Comment

Want to gain some influence in town, and have a voice without having to get elected? Here’s another chance to do just that.

With self-declared “deplorable” Grand Junction City Councilman Duncan McArthur leaving his his seat on Council, yet another position besides his Council seat has opened up: a seat on the Grand Junction Regional Airport Authority.

The seat is currently being offered to the public, albeit quietly. You have to dig a little to find information about the vacancy and how to apply, but the page with what little information there is about the airport board is here.

Now’s your chance! City seeks to fill open City Council District E seat

by Anne Landman • May 21, 2019 • 3 Comments

The $64,000 plaza in front of Grand Junction City Hall, installed for the purposes of circumventing laws regarding separation of church and state and keeping the Ten Commandments tablet on public land.

If you’ve ever wanted to serve on Grand Junction City Council but didn’t want to have to endure a campaign and election to do it, now is your chance.

City Councilor Duncan McArthur is stepping down from his seat on Council because of health problems, and City Council will be choosing his replacement.

Mr. McArthur represents District E (map). To be eligible to fill this vacant seat and if you want to obey the law, you must have lived within the boundaries of District E for a minimum of 12 months. The boundaries include all of the green area represented on this map, and comprise a strip of land between 7th and 12th Streets running south from Orchard Ave., all City land south of D Road/Riverside Parkway, and all City land on Orchard Mesa. The eastern boundary extends to 32 Road, but the City is a hopscotch of parcels to the east, so if you’re interested in the seat, consult the map to see if your residence is within City boundaries or not.

ACLU Sues CO State Senator Ray Scott for Blocking Constituent on Social Media

by Anne Landman • May 13, 2019 • 26 Comments

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

May 13, 2019

MEDIA CONTACT:

Vanessa Michel, Director of Communications

Office: 720-402-3112, Mobile: 917-399-0733

Deanna Hirsch, Media Strategist

Office: 720-402-3122, Mobile: 720-971-2393

ACLU Sues Colorado State Senator for Blocking Constituent on Social Media

DENVER – ACLU of Colorado filed a lawsuit in Federal District Court this morning against Colorado State Senator Ray Scott for blocking constituent Anne Landman from his official Facebook and Twitter pages. Landman, a resident of Colorado Senate District 7 in Grand Junction, speaks out regularly on public policy issues and writes about Colorado politics on her blog. She also uses social media to interact with fellow constituents and elected officials. Landman had been able to interact with Scott and others in these spaces until June 2017, when she wrote an article critical of Scott’s position regarding climate change and posted it on his official Facebook page. In response, Scott blocked Landman from his Facebook page and official Twitter account.

Sen. Ray Scott sponsors bill to eliminate price break for low-income energy consumers

by Anne Landman • April 21, 2019 • 1 Comment

Colorado State Senator Ray Scott

Last week State Senator Ray Scott embarrassed Mesa County residents and made a fool of himself by actually saying out loud on the Senate floor that climate change has led to “massive improvements” in our climate.

Now Scott is co-sponsoring a bill, SB 19-250 (pdf), that will deal a blow to low income people served by Black Hills Energy, the gas and electricity provider for residents of Pueblo, Canyon City, Ordway and Westcliffe. Scott’s bill would do away with a two-tiered rate structure Black Hills Energy put in place in 2017 to help low income energy consumers by giving them more protection from a state-approved rate increase that happened that same year.

Western Colorado Atheists and Freethinkers’ spring message

by Anne Landman • April 17, 2019 • 3 Comments

Billboard by Sprouts

Western Colorado Atheists and Freethinkers (WCAF) has a message for Grand Valley residents this spring: Atheism is “a personal relationship with reality.”

WCAF is the area’s longest-serving secular group, and their billboard is to help encourage people come to logical conclusions based on verifiable facts rather than basing conclusions on dogma, fables, mythology, superstition or sheer faith. That’s the message of the group’s spring, 2019 billboard, which went up today on I-70B by Rimrock Marketplace in front of Hobby Lobby and Chick-Fil-A. The board is west-facing and visible to traffic coming into town. It will be up for one week. Take photos with it while you can.

Free digital literacy resources available from Southern Poverty Law Center

by Anne Landman • April 6, 2019 • 3 Comments

Are you a teacher looking for ways to teach kids how to tell the difference between real and “fake” news, how to determine whether an online source is legitimate, reliable and fair, and how to engage in social media discussions responsibly? Are you looking for ways to help kids negotiate topics in the news, like immigration, civil rights, race and gender identity?

Well, here’s your answer.

The Southern Poverty Law Center now offers free Common Core-compatible classroom materials and resources that can help kids discern malicious online fare like propaganda deployed by hate groups to recruit new members, false conspiracy theories and racist lies. It will also help kids become more sophisticated consumers of news and social media and navigate topics like race and ethnicity, religion, variations in ability, immigration, class, bullying and bias, gender and sexual identity and rights and activism.

And did we mention it’s all free?

SPLC’s, program, “Teaching Tolerance,” includes K-12 lesson plans that align with Common Core standards and offers professional development tools that will help teachers increase their own online savvy. Teachers can access a multitude of resources, like lessons for different grade levels, student tasks, lesson plans, teaching strategies for different grade levels, film kits, printable posters and other classroom materials, and they are all available at no cost by visiting Tolerance.org.

Children, Education, Ethics, Health care, Human rights, politics, Religion, Secularism, Separation of Church and State

Colorado bill would prohibit teaching religious doctrine in public school sex ed curriculum

by Anne Landman • April 2, 2019 • 4 Comments

Colorado State Senator Don Coram

Delta County School District, are you listening?

Colorado State Senator Don Coram, a Republican who represents Montrose and Ouray counties, is a sponsor of HB19-1032, “Comprehensive Human Sexuality Education,” a bill to prohibit sex ed instruction in K-12 public schools from “explicitly or implicitly teaching or endorsing religious ideology or sectarian tenets or doctrines, using shame-based or stigmatizing language or instructional tools, employing gender norms or gender stereotypes, or excluding the relational or sexual experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender individuals.”

The bill would appropriate least $1 million annually for a grant program to carry out the new law, and it would give highest priority for the grant funds to rural public schools.

Why is this bill needed? Because of the Delta County School District.

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