Thursday Illinois Political Docket: Republican Governor Candidates Debate, Madigan In D.c. On Gay Rights

Mock Paper Scissors: Our failed political press missed the obvious point, again. Emptywheel: The opportunity costs of conspiracy theories about Merrick Garland. Roosevelt Institute: Myths about shareholders. Diane Ravitch: Oklahoma state schools chief blames terrorism on . . . teachers. News From Me: Finding the magic words for phone robots. This installment by Batocchio. E-mail tips to mbru AT crooksandliars DOT com. read more

As U. S. Rep. Lauren Boebert embarked on a fresh chapter in her political career Friday — representing a new Colorado district in Congress — she left a few legislative accomplishments to the district she led for four years, but where her prospects for reelection grew dim. Last month, the bipartisan Upper Colorado and San Juan River Basins Endangered Fish Recovery Programs Reauthorization Act became law, extending protection for four threatened and endangered native fish species on the Western Slope.

Colorado’s Democratic leaders promised Friday to keep plugging away at the state’s affordability crisis when they gavel the legislature back into session next week — but the cost of living is just one of a slew of issues they’ll contend with in the coming months. The majority Democrats are also bracing for challenges during a second Trump administration.

Paul Krugman points out that wealth and power attract people who tell you what you want to hear. There are wealthy men with enough humility to accept constructive criticism — "I’ve met some of them. But such men don’t seem likely to play a role in the incoming administration," Krugman says: What this means in the current context is that almost all attempts to refute Trump’s claims that he can replace income taxes with tariffs aim too high.

They'd like you to think conservatives are the main terrorists out there.

Do you remember John Nance Garner?