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COLORADO NEWSLINE: RINO hunters looking for a bloodbath

As county clerks across Colorado prepared to send out mail ballots to voters on Monday, former President Donald Trump weighed in on one of the state’s most-watched 2022 races.

Trump blasted Republican U.S. Senate candidate Joe O’Dea, a Denver construction CEO, as a “RINO,” or Republican in name only, over comments O’Dea made about a potential 2024 Trump presidential campaign.

In a Sunday appearance on CNN’s State of the Union, O’Dea was asked whether the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol should disqualify Trump from running again. O’Dea called the events of Jan. 6 “a black eye for our country,” though he has previously said he doesn’t believe Trump deserves blame for the Capitol attack.

“I don’t think Donald Trump should run again,” O’Dea said Sunday. “I’m going to actively campaign against Donald Trump and make sure that we’ve got four or five really great Republicans right now — Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley, Tim Scott. They can run and serve for eight years.”

Trump responded in a post on his Truth Social website: “MAGA doesn’t Vote for stupid people with big mouths”

O’Dea faces an uphill battle against incumbent Sen. Michael Bennet, a Democrat who is seeking his third full Senate term, in a state that has trended increasingly blue in recent elections. Bennet has led O’Dea in recent polling by an average of eight percentage points, according to FiveThirtyEight.

A first-time candidate who has pitched himself as a moderate on social issues, O’Dea has walked a tightrope throughout his campaign as he seeks to win over moderate voters without alienating the conservative Republican base.

He did not publicly state his opposition to a Trump 2024 bid until after the June GOP primary, when he defeated far-right state Rep. Ron Hanks with 55% of the vote. His campaign clarified that O’Dea would still support Trump in the general election if the former president wins the GOP nomination, but O’Dea has since backed off of that position in interviews.

GOP state Rep. Dave Williams, a far-right election denier who mounted an unsuccessful primary challenge against U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn earlier this year, reacted to Trump’s comments in a Twitter post.

“Ouch,” Williams wrote. “Maybe Joe’s campaign shouldn’t alienate the base 3 weeks before an election.”

Trump’s criticism follows Ron Hanks’ endorsement of the Libertarian in the Senate race, Bryan Peotter, who has put election denial and total opposition to abortion at the center of his campaign. 

The Libertarian wrote on Twitter that Trump’s attack on O’Dea “reads like an endorsement for my campaign pretty clearly.”

In an Oct. 7 appearance on the conservative “Chuck and Julie Show,” Ron Hanks, who received just under 45% of the vote in the GOP’s June primary, said neither Peotter nor O’Dea have a chance of beating Bennet - and that Republican voters should vote for Peotter to send a message to party leaders.

“It’s our time now as grassroots Colorado conservatives to step in. We have a big battle ahead to try to reform this leadership,” said Hanks. “It’s got to be a bloodbath.”

COLORADO NEWSLINE: Will Colorado legalize psychedelic mushrooms?

Ten years after Colorado voters made history by approving the ballot measure that legalized recreational marijuana, this November’s Proposition 122 would allow licensed ‘healing centers’ and decriminalize personal use of some hallucinogens. 

The Natural Medicine Health Act would establish a regulated market for psilocybin and psilocyn, the psychoactive compounds found in psychedelic mushrooms. Placed on the 2022 ballot by a citizen initiative, it will become law if a majority of Colorado voters give their approval.

The measure would allow licensed “healing centers” to provide access to psilocybin and psilocyn for therapeutic purposes. It would also decriminalize the “personal use” of the substances, allowing people to possess and grow psychedelic mushrooms in their own homes.

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Natural Medicine Colorado, the group backing the effort says “Natural psychedelic medicines are non-addictive, and can have profound benefits for people struggling with mental health conditions including depression, anxiety, opioid use disorder, and those struggling to find peace at the end of their lives.”

Proposition 122 qualified for the ballot in July after organizers submitted more than the required 124,632 valid signatures to the secretary of state’s office. An issue committee backing the measure has reported more than $2.8 million in contributions, according to campaign finance disclosures.

Nearly all of that funding came from New Approach PAC, a Washington, D.C.-based PAC that advocates for drug policy reform. Top donors to the group include the van Ameringen Foundation, Scotts Miracle-Gro and Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps.

New Approach PAC supported successful mushroom decriminalization measures in Oregon and Washington, D.C., in 2020. If voters approve Proposition 122, Colorado would become the third jurisdiction in the country to legalize psilocybin.

Denver voters took a more limited step towards the decriminalization of psychedelic mushrooms in 2019, approving a measure that directed police to make possession of psychedelics the city’s ”lowest law-enforcement priority.”

Legalization advocates point to a vast body of existing research showing that psychedelics can be effective in treating depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health conditions. 

The federal Food and Drug Administration has designated psilocybin as a “breakthrough therapy” for the treatment of major depressive disorder.

Luke Gruber, an initiative backer and a Marine veteran who suffered from PTSD and depression after serving in Afghanistan, says psilocybin therapy “changed his life.”

He said, “I can’t really describe the experience, but I can describe what it was like after my first treatment with natural medicine. It was like being reminded of what hope felt like.”

If passed, Proposition 122 would establish a 15-member Natural Medicine Advisory Board to oversee the regulation of psychedelic substances. The first licenses for regulated providers would be issued beginning in September 2024. Pending recommendations from the advisory board, other substances, including DMT and mescaline, could be added to the program in 2026.

I WILL BE VOTING YES. 

COLORADO NEWSLINE: SHE’S JUST BLOWING SMOKE

Kirkmeyer repeats false Colorado oil and gas claims in 8th District debate against Caraveo

In a recent debate in the race for Colorado’s new 8th Congressional District, right-wing GOP State Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer took the opportunity to repeat a series of false claims about the oil and gas industry, and the impacts of a 2019 law sponsored by her Democratic opponent, state Rep. Dr. Yadira Caraveo.

Kirkmeyer called the package of new health, safety and environmental reforms a “de facto ban on oil and gas. We went from 5,100 permits approved in 2018 down to about, I think, 22 — 22 permits this year, something approximately in that area,” she claimed.

So, it’s not 22. It’s actually 842 new drilling permits that have been approved this year. Nearly 40 times higher than what Kirkmeyer claimed. In total, there are 1,314 active drilling permits held by Colorado oil and gas producers as of last week.

She made a similar false claim in March, asserting that only four permits had been issued at that point in the year. The true figure was 125.

Colorado’s oil production levels have dipped slightly from their 2019 peak, but remain near historic highs. Producers within the state are on pace to pump more than 156 million barrels of crude oil out of Colorado this year. That’s higher than every other year prior to 2018, and it’s more than five times the volume being pumped in Colorado ten years ago. 

Drillers have reduced growth plans and capital budgets in large part due to the demands of Wall Street investors, who flooded the industry with cheap credit amid the 2010s fracking boom, but have since sought to prioritize more profitable streams of revenue.

Kirkmeyer claimed that SB-181 “killed thousands of jobs” in the 8th District, which encompasses an area in north metro Denver and Weld County that is home to the vast majority of Colorado’s oil production. 

Asked why the same trends were observed in drilling-friendly states like Texas and Wyoming recently, Kirkmeyer said, “I have no idea what other laws, or what other kinds of regulations, or what else was going on in those states.” Kirkmeyer also denied the scientific consensus on fossil fuels and climate change. 

Dr. Caraveo, the Democratic candidate, is a pediatrician who has seen the impacts of drilling and refinery operations in the lungs of the innocent kids who come into her clinic. The Suncor refinery, one of Colorado’s largest sources of air pollution, is located within the new district. 

Dr. Caraveo said 2019’s oil and gas reform bill was moderate, and incorporated industry input. 

The 8th District, the boundaries of which were drawn last year by Colorado’s first-ever Independent Redistricting Commission, is the state’s most competitive. According to the commission’s analysis, former President Donald Trump would have won the district by 1.7 percentage points in the 2016 election, while Democratic Sen. John Hickenlooper would have carried the district by the same margin in his defeat of former GOP Sen. Cory Gardner in 2020. Nonpartisan elections analysts rate the race as a toss-up.

ARIZONA MIRROR:

Oath Keepers are planning to watch drop boxes in Arizona, spurred by conspiracy theories. The groups’ violent rhetoric has advocates worried, and some local politicians are stirring the pot. 

The increased attention to ballot drop boxes comes in the wake of the debunked film “2000 Mules” about a completely made up ballot stuffing operation supposedly benefitting Democratic candidates.

Now, groups are organizing events to keep an eye on drop boxes in Arizona. One of those groups is connected directly to the Arizona chapter of the Oath Keepers, a known white supremacist group. 

They’re calling their midterm voter intimidation efforts “Operation Drop Box.” 

On its website the group members describe themselves as “conservative patriots” who say the country has been hijacked global elites, communists, leftists, deep state bureaucrats, and fake news.”

Jim Arroyo, the leader of the Arizona Oath Keepers said the group sent emails to everyone in the group’s roster, about 1,000 people. 

In an Oath Keeprs meeting, Arroyo said “For the November election we would like to post people at drop boxes to have eyes on target to be able to notify law enforcement. We have already coordinated with Sheriff Rhodes and he told us that if we see somebody stuffing a ballot box and we get a license plate number, that deputies would make an arrest and there will be a prosecution.” 

County Sheriff David Rhodes has spoken to the Arizona chapter of the Oath Keepers on two separate occasions. In an August 2021 meeting, he said “I’ve got to tell you, this is one of my favorite groups. It is great to be with friends” 

When asked about coordination between the Sheriff, Lions of Liberty and the Oath Keepers. County spokesperson Kristin Greene said “Sheriff Rhodes has zero to do with their effort to watch the drop boxes.”

Rhodes also spoke to the group in late September, a meeting which the Sheriff’s Office said was to educate the group on what was legal and what was not legal for the group to do. The Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office told the group members that as long as they stay 75 feet away from the drop boxes, they are within their legal rights, but any closer and they could be violating the law. 

The county is also at the center of another effort led by former Graham County Sheriff Richard Mack, who leads the so-called Constitutional Sheriffs Association, an extremist anti-government group.  

CSPOA and the Oath Keepers have long had close ties.

State Sen. Kelly Townsend, a Republican, called on “vigilantes” to camp out on drop boxes. 

At a legislative hearing all about indulging wild conspiracy theories, she said, “I have been so pleased to hear about all you vigilantes out there that want to camp out at these drop boxes. We’re going to have hidden trail cameras, we are going to have people parked out there watching you and they are going to follow you to your car and get your license plate, so don’t try it. Don’t try it anymore.” 

Lake Havasu Republican Sonny Borrelli has also made similar calls while at an election security forum. 

“We need to be force multipliers,” Borrelli told the crowd in Tempe. “We need to have people camped on unmanned drop boxes and camp on those and keep an eye on them and take down that data, license plates, pictures and so on and so forth.”

Concerned voter advocates are advising that .ocal law enforcement may not be the best option for a voter to turn to, if you end up feeling intimidated at the polls - instead suggesting contacting local election officials, the election protection hotline, or federal law enforcement. 

Voter intimidation is a federal crime, one that is enforced by the FBI and Department of Justice. 

When asked for comment about the situation with white supremacists camping out at ballot drop boxes, 

United States Attorney for Arizona Gary Restaino said “Enough with the election deniers and fear-mongers, who only seek to undermine our democratic process. I’m proud to live in a state that endeavors to remove barriers to voting, and that has long believed in vote-by-mail. Working in partnership with our state and local election officials, the Department of Justice will do its very best to ensure that every eligible voter who chooses to vote can do so easily and efficiently, without interference or discrimination.”

Most importantly, voters shouldn’t let wackos like the Oath Keepers and so-called Constitutional Sheriffs keep you from participating in American democracy. 

ON THAT NOTE:

Arizona’s General Election has officially begun, with ballots being sent out across the state to voters who have signed up to receive them by mail, and with polling places opening up for early voting. 

Voters who have registered for mail-in ballots will begin receiving their ballots soon, and can check the status of their ballot at my.arizona.vote

Those who have not yet requested a mail-in ballot have until Oct. 28 to do so. 

NEVADA CURRENT:

Nevada launches opioid task force as fentanyl overdoses increase

The Nevada Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Attorney General Aaron Ford and Gov. Steve Sisolak have launched an opioid task force designed to provide technical assistance, guidance and resources to local and state jurisdictions amid the rise of opioid overdoses. 

The increase in overdoses is associated with fentanyl, which is 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times more powerful than morphine. Fentanyl is often found in other drugs like cocaine and pills and is not detectable without a chemical test. 

Between July and August in Nevada, emergency department visits from suspected opioid-related deaths increased by 66% - and emergency department visits from suspected stimulant-related overdoses increased by 50%.

For those looking for help, visit: behavioralhealthnv.org in Nevada, or can call the free, confidential, national treatment and referral hotline at 1-800-662-4357. 1-800-662-help

To find free naloxone or learn about using fentanyl test strips in Nevada, visit nvopioidresponse.org

Last year, 107,000 Americans died from opioid overdoses. 

Concert pick of the Week: Todd Snider at Washington’s FOCO

Todd Snider is an American singer/songwriter who is 1000x more fucking badass than implied by that term. He’s got a new Live album called Return of the Storyteller, with extra resonance in our post-pandemic era. 

Snider says laughingly, “This was really only my second tour – because I went out on the road in ’94 and never went home until the pandemic.  And I’m so glad I recorded those shows for this album. Because that was the sound of the country getting to see live music again. Everyone just hugs at the start of a concert-you can tell folks are glad to see each other, and then they get more excited than they used to be about just being out and seeing music. I’m sure that it will go back to normal, but it hasn’t yet.”

So go to the show! Todd Snider is playing next Wednesday Washington’s Fort Collins - tickets at washingtonsfoco.com.

Next Friday - October 28 he’ll be at Knuckleheads in Kansas City - on Saturday November 19th he’ll be play the Sheldon Concert Hall in St Louis, and in between he has near daily shows in Des Moines, Eau Claire, Omaha, Iowa City, Chicago, Madison, Grand Rapids, Ohio, Illinois, Raleigh, Knoxville.

Closes out the tour in December with 5 dates in Texas, last of which being Luckenback, on December 10.

If you can’t tell - I’m definitely hoping to catch a couple of this extraordinary storyteller’s shows. God willing.

Welp, that’s it for me! From Denver I’m Sean Diller. Original reporting for the stories in today’s show comes from the Nevada Current, Arizona Mirror, Colorado Newsline, Source New Mexico, and Denver’s Westword.

Thank you for listening! See you next time.

Host: Adam Sommer 

Find Adam on tik-tok and bluesky as "midmapdadenergy" - follow The Process on instagram. 

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Outro Song: “The World Is On Fire” by American Aquarium 

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Nothing on this channel is to be taken as legal advice for any jurisdiction. All statements are opinions that reflect on that of the speaker and the purpose of the show is to provide space for discussion that may include statements or opinions shared only for the purpose of discussion.