This letter was sent to Yellow Scene Magazine. As with all Letters to the Editor, the views expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the publication. We value providing space for community voices.

I hail from the left, and am not shy about it: a democratic socialist, an out trans and queer person, a union organizer, and a feminist. And I have advocated on all of those fronts for many years.

Right now, though, I am both disturbed and disappointed by some of my fellow lefties, who have become the unwitting tools of White Christian Nationalists by crossing the line into clear antisemitism. Some have even gone so far as to embrace such a misguided worldview that they’ve convinced themselves that hostility toward Jews is morally justified.

I’ve seen it on social media and heard it on the streets: people behaving in clearly abhorrent ways towards American Jews (street harassment, bullying, even openly saying that Jews deserve violence or death). And far too much of it is rooted in assigning collective blame for the worst of the Netanyahu administration’s atrocities.

Enough. Individual Jewish Americans are no more responsible for Netanyahu’s evils than individual Russian Americans are responsible for Putin’s. Bernie Sanders does not share in some sort of collective blame for the horrific abuses of violent settlers in the West Bank because he is a Jew from Brooklyn. In fact, he clearly abhors that violence – as do most American Jews, a supermajority of whom agree that under Netanyahu, Israel is committing war crimes, according to Washington Post polling (though of course everyone deserves safety, no matter their political ideology).

At the same time, “antisemitism” is being cynically co-opted and weaponized by MAGA forces to attack our civil liberties and our immigrant neighbors, something Jewish organizations have rebuked (1, 2). But as we stand in the shadow of the June 1 anniversary of the firebombing on the Pearl Street Mall, I’m talking about the real kind – the hatred and dehumanization of Jews because they are Jews.

That firebombing was one of the more horrifying acts of hate violence in our state’s history. Marking this anniversary, it is essential that we all have the courage to name and face hard truths. We must stiffen our spines against hatred because the death of Karen Diamond demands it, as does the pain of all the survivors and the broader Jewish community. We cannot and will not find the healing that is needed here until we do. But we also must do so because all of our fates, and our liberations, are bound together.

As the German saying goes, “antisemitism is the socialism of fools” — a once oft-spoken refrain purportedly repeated by Engels and Marx both. All those who said it knew a simple thing: that if they allowed themselves to be drawn into the base antisemitic trope that Jews as a people were somehow responsible for the worst evils of the world, they would be falling into a divide-and-conquer trap laid for them by those at the top.

As a unionist, I know the truth in my bones, and I’ve seen it with my eyes. The only thing that advances real justice is working people uniting together across the things that divide us: race, religion, ethnicity, gender, age, etc. And the oligarchs who do not wish to see working people hold real power will always seek to exacerbate and inflame those divisions because if we are fighting each other, we can’t fight effectively against them.

This is why, for literally millennia, one of the core features of antisemitism has been the fomenting of conspiracy theories about how Jews are sinister figures who secretly control everything and create the world’s worst ills. That awful lie has a purpose: if we believe it, we turn our anger on our Jewish compatriots instead of the ones actually rigging the systems against us.

It is also one of the core lies that gave rise to the Third Reich. Now, the Christian Nationalists of today are fanning the flames of this oldie-but-definitely-not-goodie via intentionally destructive and manipulative schemes like the Heritage Foundation’s Project Esther. In that horrific endeavor, the same organization behind Project 2025 worked to redefine antisemitism to justify MAGA attacks on free speech, thus advancing the twin authoritarian aims of curtailing civil liberties and setting Jews up as the scapegoats for that erosion.

If we are fighting for collective liberation, we have to stop falling for the tricks laid for us by those who hate and oppress us all. We need all of our siblings with us to protect each other and defeat White Christian Nationalism, and that means no exceptions. It also means being brave enough to speak up and call in those who refuse to see and hold the full humanity of all people, including Jews.

On the left, we often say that none of us can be free until all of us are free. It’s past time we all fully live out that mantra – and the knowledge that it does and must include our Jewish siblings. The only true path out of this mess and towards justice is for all of us to find a way to walk side by side. If we cannot, we will unfortunately be the worst kind of fools.

Wynn Howell (they/them) is the Colorado State Director of the Working Families Party and is a leader in the labor and LGBTQ+ movements who has spent over 25 years working as a union, community, and political organizer.

The post Letter to the Editor: The Socialism of Fools appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

This piece is part of Yellow Scene Magazine’s Opinion section. The views expressed here are those of the author and do not represent a reported news position. At Yellow Scene, opinion pieces speak freely, challenge assumptions, and say the quiet parts out loud.

My answer to that question is YES. Yesterday, I had a local farm tell me they don’t pay for advertising except Meta. I see local shops boosting posts and paying for ads on Meta every day.

Daggers in the heart, that one stings.

Money leaves the community when it flows upward into platforms that have no stake in the survival of local economies.

Journalism didn’t die. It’s been taken over by large and powerful forces who know that when you control the airwaves, you control the policies. Over my 40 years in media, I watched journalism slowly stop being treated as a public good and start being treated like a mechanism of control. What we are seeing now with Project 2025 didn’t suddenly appear out of nowhere. The consolidation of media, attacks on education, weakening of anti-trust laws, and concentration of wealth have been building for decades.

They have had a pretty successful run. Today, most major media is controlled by six mega conglomerates with enormous billionaire influence. Schools have been defunded, anti-trust laws weakened, and we are now watching concentrated power reshape democratic institutions themselves.

Yet people still read and want high-touch experiences in their lives. Eighty-five percent of books sold are in print, and local bookstores are a rapidly growing market. Zines are in, and the analog wellness revolution is taking place.

At Yellow Scene, we use social media too. We post the articles we have published in print and online. Communities absolutely form there. But over the years we learned something important: likes don’t equal recall, and advertising metrics are often mistaken for meaningful engagement. We stopped boosting three years ago and have better engagement on stories now than before. That may be why print books, zines, local bookstores, record stores, and other human-scale experiences are resurging.

Even many successful streamers and independent news voices are proving the same point. Audiences still spend hours engaging with longform conversations, reporting, podcasts, interviews, books, and communities they trust. Social media often acts more like the messenger than the destination itself. The good ones are not succeeding because people suddenly love advertising interruptions or shallow engagement. In fact, 51% of audiences actively pay to avoid digital ads, with reports showing 93% now ignoring them altogether. Independent streamers succeed because people intentionally seek them out, trust their perspectives, and feel their time is being respected.

People did not stop consuming meaningful media. They stopped trusting media that stopped respecting them.

I recently interviewed a college intern who told me they got rid of their smartphone, switched to a flip phone, and eliminated social media entirely. Apparently, this isn’t unusual anymore.

Maybe there is just too much tech now to sort through it all?

It’s true most of us are not getting rid of our smartphones, computers, or Alexa, but what people need, since the beginning of humanity, is connection. They are finding that inside local bookstores, local farms, local music venues, and yes, local print journalism, when it offers something worth reading.

Yellow Scene’s Best of the West is just one example of authentic journalism, free from influence, while still writing about local businesses.

I do not think you will find a bigger advocate for shopping locally than the last and only locally owned news media platform serving all of Boulder County. Most other media platforms are now hedge fund-owned, corporate-owned, or franchise-operated.

We do have all the recent news nonprofit platforms starting up, some strong, but many are constrained by donor expectations to remain apolitical and nonpolarizing, avoiding the deeper “why” behind the stories.

We promote shopping local hard because we believe committing to circular economies is how we all survive the corporatization of everything by the billionaire class. Today, 75% of veterinarians and dentists are corporate-owned. This is happening to all industries, from auto repair to landscaping. Half of American homes are now owned by corporations. It used to be that 70% of businesses in America were sole proprietorships or small businesses. Today, it is down to 50%.

Local economies don’t survive on transactions alone. They survive on trust, shared information, accountability, and public participation. Local journalism is part of that infrastructure too.

At Yellow Scene, we resist that takeover.

Our press remains free. With a long 40-year career in media, I did not used to have to explain that we don’t accept quid pro quo. I did indeed drink the Seymour Hersh Kool-Aid that journalism matters. Not only are we the last locally owned publication, but we are also one of the few that do not accept sponsored content. Sponsored content is paid articles. In the old days, they said PAID ADVERTISEMENT on them, but not anymore. They are simply published as if they are independent journalism. Most people figure it out, though. When you have a full-page story on an insurance broker, it becomes obvious. Where it hits the slippery slope is when political organizations buy it while it’s presented as an actual article.

I won’t do it. I will quit before I do. I am committed to local journalism more than ever, even if it is not the pathway to riches. I think we have a lot more in common with our small local businesses than giant behemoths.

Sponsored content is a disservice to everyone, and I can’t believe after 40 years that this is what I am fighting. Not who does the better journalism, but who is still doing actual journalism. I’ve been doing this too long to spend my time putting out advertorials just to survive. We are focused on making something people actually want to read and, critically, coverage that is free of monetary influence.

That does not mean advertising itself is evil. It’s only evil if you do evil things with it. But there should be a clear line between what is editorial coverage and what is advertising, and respect should be given when people say they do not want advertising tracking them everywhere they go.

We happily help local businesses design advertisements that tell their stories in authentic and creative ways. One of the benefits of print is that advertisements exist alongside the reading experience instead of constantly interrupting it. Readers know what an ad is, and good ads can still add personality, discovery, and texture to the pages. Local businesses help make up our local community, and people often appreciate their print ads. The good streamers and independent media voices understand this too. They keep advertising separate from their coverage, or their audiences support them directly so they do not have to rely heavily on ads at all.

Do local businesses and organizations get coverage in Yellow Scene? All the time, but not for money.

We think the work local-owned shops are doing is important too. If people want to fight back against the corporate takeover of everything, shop local.

But to provide a free press, we still have to pay our writers, artists, printers, mailing costs, and drivers to produce, print, distribute, and deliver 25,000 copies filled with award-winning journalism. We understand our local organizations’ plight, as we operate on slim margins too.

Maybe Meta is less the problem than the symptom of a very confusing advertising world. For the last 20 years, small businesses have been told print was dead, digital was the future, and journalism was going by the wayside. Somewhere along the line, likes and analytics became mistaken for meaningful engagement.

But journalism will never die. There will always be truth tellers in this world. Sometimes people just want to sit down and read something worth their time, and that they can trust.

If communities want independent journalism free from corporate or political influence, they have to participate in the same circular economy they advocate for when they say “shop local.”

People are searching for real connection more than ever in a world increasingly shaped by algorithms, corporate consolidation, and manufactured engagement.

In today’s corporate world, finding true, honest journalism is getting harder, and that includes local news, too. From corporate takeovers to the nonprofit industry, finding reporters willing to ask the hard questions seems like a thing of the past.

Which is why Yellow Scene remains fiercely independent and never, ever accepts quid pro quo. We are only beholden to our readers, not funders.

The truth is, we really cannot do this without you. If you value our journalism, become a sustaining supporter for $8 a month. Your support keeps honest reporting alive and gets the hard copy delivered to your home.

The post Is local media part of the circular economy eco-system? appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

In March 2025, the Trump administration issued an executive order directing Education Secretary Linda McMahon to begin dismantling the Department of Education – a move that could severely limit the federal government’s ability to uphold educational standards and civil rights protections mandated by Congress.

Since its modern inception as a cabinet-level agency in 1979 under President Jimmy Carter, the DOE has played a critical role in promoting equity, safeguarding civil rights, and expanding access to education for all students. It has been especially important for marginalized groups, including students with disabilities, students of color, and LGBTQ+ students. The department enforces federal laws that guarantee these students the right to learn in safe, inclusive, and supportive environments.

Though the federal agency traces its roots back to 1867 – originally formed to help states collect educational data -its existence has long been a point of contention. Some Republicans have opposed the department since its creation, arguing that education policy should be controlled entirely by states and local communities rather than the federal government.

In recent years, especially following the COVID-19 pandemic, public trust in U.S. public schools has eroded among some segments of the population, particularly conservatives. For these critics, the DOE has become a symbol of what they see as federal overreach and ideological bias in school systems. The decision to dismantle the department reflects this growing distrust and aligns with a long-standing conservative goal of decentralizing educational governance. 

What exactly does the Department of Education do?

Beyond civil rights enforcement, the DOE plays a major role in financing education across the country — particularly for students from low-income families, students with disabilities, and those pursuing higher education. 

One of the department’s main responsibilities is managing the federal student loan system. Of the department’s $229 billion budget, nearly half – over $114 billion – is allocated to the Federal Direct Student Loan Program. In addition to issuing loans, the department oversees loan forgiveness programs and income-driven repayment plans that millions of borrowers rely on.

It also administers major grant programs that support students from marginalized communities. Title I, for example, provides federal aid to K-12 schools with high numbers or percentages of low-income students. Pell Grants, which do not need to be repaid, are awarded to undergraduate students based on financial need and serve as a critical resource for those who might otherwise be unable to afford college.

These programs are designed to expand educational access, particularly for students living in concentrated poverty. Without the DOE, it remains unclear how – or whether – these programs would continue at scale.

Another vital area of federal support is special education. The department oversees the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, a federal law that guarantees students with disabilities access to a free and appropriate public education. In 2024, Congress allocated around $15 billion to support IDEA programs across states. That funding helps pay for additional staff, individualized instruction, and specialized services that many public schools wouldn’t otherwise be able to provide.

Taken together, these programs form a core part of the department’s mission: to ensure that all students, regardless of background, ability, or income, have a fair shot at receiving a quality education.

As the Trump administration moves to dismantle the agency, education experts warn that disrupting or decentralizing these programs could jeopardize critical support for millions of students across the country.

What would the end of the federal department mean for Colorado schools?

According to Kevin Welner, the director of the National Educational Policy Center and a professor in the University of Colorado Boulder School of Education, the chaos that would ensue in Colorado public schools would be felt by people in state departments of education and the people in local schools. The majority of funding that flows to Colorado school districts comes from a combination of state and local resources. Districts receive a dollar amount from the state for every student they educate, otherwise known as per-pupil funding. According to a 2024 article by the Colorado Sun the districts net just under $8500 for each of its students. Districts get additional funding for specific groups of students who need extra support, such as students from low income families. 

Dismantling the DOE would be an additional blow to these schools, because many of them are already suffering due to declining student enrollments and reduced state funding. Schools in Colorado anticipated receiving around $70 million for the 2025-2026 academic year; this money was designated for essential programs like teacher training, English language learning, etc. Without this $70 million, these schools will face severe financial pressures that could result in many budget cuts. 

Last year, more than $870 million in federal funds flowed to Colorado, according to data provided by the state education department. This money, according to what the Colorado Education Commissioner Susana Córdova told Colorado Sun, provides a “safety net” for all the kids; it meets the needs of some of their most vulnerable students, including kids with special needs and those living in low-income households. 

The Trump administration is intent on changing how the federal government distributes funding through IDEA, which ensures that students with disabilities can access public education and receive additional needed services. The policy dictates the states to convert that funding into block grants for states. 

According to what Welner told Colorado Sun, when similar changes for block grants have been made in the past, the money allocated for students with disabilities do not go to those who need it. Some of the funds will likely be diverted to a federal voucher program, which will primarily benefit students from more affluent families or private schools. 

Emily Harvey is the co-director of Disability Law Colorado. She explained that when we minimize federal oversight, the states would have to hold themselves accountable. “I think we are going to see dramatic differences across states,” she said, in an interview with Yellow Scene Magazine. “Without federal oversight, there is going to be less incentive to comply with the standards set by schools, which is hard enough to follow with less funding.” 

“The new policies would make it harder for disabled students and poorer students to have access to basic services. The federal government was who we looked to in order to enforce civil rights laws that people with disabilities fought very hard for. Now, the states do not need to enforce these laws; you would have to go to federal court to enforce it, which is very time consuming and costly,” Harvey mentioned.

“I am deeply concerned about the potential impact of the delay and ongoing uncertainty surrounding these critical funds on our students, educators, and schools,” Dr Susana Córdova told the Colorado Sun. She urged school districts to engage in “contingency planning” in case Colorado does not receive the required funding by the end of the federal fiscal year, which is September 30. Denver Public Schools, Colorado’s largest district, stands to lose around $10 million if the federal funds continue to be withheld, according to an article by Colorado Public Radio.  

Alex Marrero, superintendent of Denver Public Schools, issued a statement demanding the release of these funds. According to the statement, the decision to delay the distribution of congressionally appropriated funds is a “dangerous overreach of executive authority and a direct affront to public education, especially for communities that rely most heavily on these supports.” 

Without the DOE providing grants, individual districts must decide whether to continue or end programs powered by federal dollars. They can use the money they would have used on other programs to direct it towards the federal programs and hope that they can be reimbursed when their funding comes in.

Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser assured the public that Colorado authorities are taking action because their educational leaders need every tool possible to support kids who are struggling with disconnectedness, loneliness, or isolation. 

The administration’s broader plans as part of Project 2025

The Trump administration’s attack on the DOE represents one of the most visible threats to the U.S. public education system. It’s a key part of Project 2025 — a sweeping policy agenda developed by the Heritage Foundation and over 100 other conservative organizations to guide a future Republican administration. Among its proposals are efforts to phase out federal education funding entirely and convert programs like Title I into block grants. This would allow states to redistribute funds from historically marginalized students toward wealthier districts — deepening disparities tied to race, income, and disability. One of the most radical ideas in the plan is dismantling the DOE altogether, justified under the claim that public schools are “underperforming.” In reality, this shift would strip essential federal oversight and protections from the country’s most vulnerable students.

Democracy needs journalism more than ever. We’ve been telling the truth for 24 years. Your support helps us keep telling it for at least the next four years.

Should the federal government be involved in regulating education?

The White House has defended its push to eliminate the DOE by claiming it would “return power to the states.” However, this reflects a common Republican misconception; the federal agency doesn’t dictate educational standards or curriculum — it primarily distributes funding and supports research. In reality, states and local school districts already control curriculum, teacher selection, and education policy. The federal government’s role is to help close opportunity gaps, not to set local education agendas. In fact, only about 10% of public education funding comes from the federal level, with the rest provided by state and local taxpayers.

Importantly, federal funding is targeted to support students who are most in need, including low-income students, children with disabilities, and English language learners. Eliminating the department wouldn’t increase state control — it would strip essential resources from marginalized communities. Critics also warn that dismantling the agency would allow the administration to cut positions held by civil servants who challenge its ideological agenda, further politicizing public education. 

According to an article by ACLU without the DOE, the federal government’s capacity to collect data is eviscerated, and this becomes a problem because it is an important resource for identifying and addressing disparities in education. Without this oversight, schools would not be held accountable for unjustified racial and disability disparity in academic performance or access to resources. Policies based on data, which have helped to reduce discriminatory practices, are now at risk. 

In addition, the DOE recently terminated all staff in seven of the Office for Civil Rights’ 12 regional offices, significantly weakening federal enforcement of student civil rights. The OCR, which received $140 million in congressional funding in 2024, is responsible for investigating discrimination complaints and ensuring schools comply with civil rights laws. Terminating its staff not only undermines protections for millions of students — particularly those facing discrimination based on race, national origin, sex, or LGBTQ+ status — but also limits their ability to seek justice when their rights are violated. With fewer investigators, discriminatory practices are more likely to go unchecked across the country. 

Harvey acknowledged the system’s flaws but emphasized its importance. “It wasn’t perfect,” she told YS, “but it was what we had — and what families depended on.” She noted that complaints could sometimes take over two years to receive a response from the OCR or the US Department of Justice, leaving students vulnerable in the meantime. Still, she believes that if the system is to be rebuilt, there’s an opportunity to make it stronger and more responsive than before, as opposed to simply laying off employees. 

All these policies, part of Project 2025, encourage taxpayer funds to flow to private K-12 schools with no guarantee that the money would not be used to discriminate or prioritize some students over others. These vouchers incentivize education to become more privatized, which would undermine the value of public education. 

A bigger plan to exert influence across the country

Supporters of Project 2025 policies argue that the functions performed by the DOE can be performed by other departments as well. But if efficiency were the goal, there are various ways to achieve it, as opposed to such dramatic layoffs. There are many scholars and officials who feel as though the administration aims to undermine public education and get more right-wing organizations to be in charge of the education system. This is a systematic move to instill its agenda in schools across the country and discriminate against those who disagree with its ideologies. 

The Trump administration appears to want to exert significant influence over education policy – not through direct legislation – but by controlling what students are taught in schools. A central part of this strategy may involve the appointment of Linda McMahon as secretary of education. McMahon, a former executive at World Wrestling Entertainment, and the wife of former WWE CEO Vince McMahon, has become a controversial figure due to serious allegations tied to her tenure at the company.

Although she is not charged with any abuse, a recent lawsuit has accused both Linda and Vince McMahon of enabling the sexual exploitation of minors — referred to as “ring boys” — by a WWE ring announcer decades ago. The suit alleges that Linda McMahon turned a blind eye to the abuse while in a leadership role at WWE. Her attorney has denied the claims. These accusations have raised widespread concerns about her ability to oversee the DOE, which is responsible for the well-being and education of more than 50 million students across approximately 98,000 public and 32,000 private schools nationwide. 

This is particularly significant to note because, as the leader of the DOE, McMahon would oversee its Office for Civil Rights, which enforces critical child protection policies such as Title IX, a federal law that prevents schools from practicing sex-based discrimination. 

The administration’s approach to education has also aligned closely with a network of right-wing groups, including Moms for Liberty, a conservative activist organization with growing national influence. According to an article by Mother Jones, it acknowledged working closely with members of the Trump team to “ensure that students’ needs are prioritized” in the public education system, though the group declined to confirm details. 

Founded in 2021 by former Florida school board members Tiffany Justice and Tina Descovich, Moms for Liberty has led efforts to purge public school libraries of books dealing with race, gender, and LGBTQ+ issues. The group often frames its work as a defense against “woke indoctrination,” pushing unproven claims that schools are sexualizing children or promoting Marxist ideologies. 

“The policies highlighted in Project 2025 would give Trump unprecedented powers to undo many of the protections the LGBTQ+ community have spent decades fighting to gain,” Cathryn Oakley, Senior Director of Legal Policy at the Human Rights Campaign, told the National Education Association (NEA). It plans to scrap the policies implemented during the Biden administration and other Title IX regulations; the implications of this could have a devastating impact on these communities.  

According to a Truthout interview with Jon Valant, the director of the Brown Center on Education Policy at the Brookings Institution, where his research specializes in K-12 education policy, the administration seems to be twisting and redefining the department’s priorities with respect to civil rights. Until now, its focus was to protect vulnerable groups of students; now, the focus seems to be on weaponizing civil rights enforcement to threaten school districts and universities that do not align with its positions on culture-war issues like LGBTQ+ rights or disability rights. 

Harvey, during the YS interview, made it clear that she has not given up; she has been talking with other advocates to continue fighting for people with disabilities. “The Americans with Disabilities Act wasn’t handed down from above – it was fought for. It came only after activists left their wheelchairs and crawled up the steps of the U.S. Capitol, forcing the country to see just how inaccessible its government truly was.” Laws like the ADA and Title IX exist because people demanded better –  not just for themselves but for the generations that would follow. 

“We have to stay focused on what’s best for the kids,” Harvey said. “Here in Colorado, there are people who care — people deeply committed to ensuring every child has the chance to learn and grow. We’re going to keep moving in that direction. I truly believe we can come together to strengthen civil rights protections for our students, so we don’t lose the progress that so many people have fought for.”

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The post Dismantled Childhood: How the Department of Education is falling under Trump appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

This letter was sent to Yellow Scene Magazine. As with all Letters to the Editor, the views expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the publication. We value providing space for community voices

I attended the Erie Town Council meeting on 8/26, and I just watched the video replay of last night—and wow, do I have some observations to share.

I watched Andrew Moore and Brandon Bell and their tag team of disrespect towards Councilwoman Baer. Their words and actions were shameful, reprehensible, and—to use a buzzword that will hopefully get your knickers twisted—deplorable. It is quite clear that neither one of them has any respect for her, not because of her positions, but purely because of her gender. The two of them should be ashamed. I understand that in order to feel shame, one must have the capacity to think of someone other than themselves, and it is abundantly clear that the two of them need a lot of help in that arena.

Now, I’m sure that both of them (and likely others) think that I’m overreacting and will vigorously defend themselves and exclaim, “What do you mean, I treat women equally and fairly!” My gut tells me that if we were to ask the women in their lives, they would have different thoughts. If this is how they treat an elected councilwoman in public while being recorded, I can only imagine how they treat women when nobody is watching. We also saw how the Mayor’s wife attempted to bully two Erie residents after the meeting in June, so I have a pretty good idea of what passes for respect in the Moore household.

I could go on at length about the double talk and double standards regarding the flag policy, but it is evident that neither of them sees this as an issue of inclusion. They see it as an opportunity to disguise their prejudices as policy. Between Bell’s grandstanding and Andrew’s condescension toward Councilwoman Baer, Councilman Pesaramelli, and even the town clerk—whom he chastised for not calling on members in the order that he prefers—I don’t know which of them deserves more scorn. We absolutely don’t see eye to eye on what defines inclusion and equality, but here’s what I heard last night in summary: by offering inclusion and equality to protected classes, we are somehow making things unequal for the classes that require no protection. In other words, showing support to anything other than straight, white males somehow chips away at the bedrock of toxic male fragility—and that’s bad, somehow.

Brian O’Connor thinks the military deserves more recognition, and he made some weird argument about people with disabilities not feeling included. Brandon brought up anti-Semitism and flying the Israeli flag, shedding crocodile tears for the poor Israelis who are murdering Palestinians and how traumatizing it must be for that group of people carrying out and supporting genocide in Gaza. Talk about picking the wrong example. I guess somewhere between attending a MAGA rally last year and today, Tantrum Bell must have forgotten that there’s a thin line between today’s MAGA Republican and the actual Nazis who have been marching and chanting “Jews will not replace us” with increasing frequency all across our country—and that thin line is often seen under a red hat.

I shared in comment that Erie is not a MAGA stronghold and made mention of Project 2025. I am proud that my comments really got Andrew and Brandon worked up and vehemently denying their association or support of that movement. It reminded me of that saying, “The lady doth protest too much, methinks.” Brandon attended a MAGA rally last year and bragged about it on social media. Andrew stated last night that he left the Republican Party in 2017, yet he sent out a robotext during the campaign saying Erie didn’t have conservative representation in the mayoral election. He said he leans left on many issues but that he agrees with “fiscal conservative” ideals, while somehow ignoring that he spent seventy thousand dollars of town money to fulfill some selfish need for the community to affirm his biases in the comprehensive survey. That is not fiscally conservative at all.

This is where a good letter to the editor would add a call to action, a request for decency, a path toward a solution. Well, that only works when you’re dealing with individuals who actually seek a solution. The two of them don’t seek solutions; they instead choose to live in the problem—both real and imagined—and for that I truly feel bad for them, and for Erie as a whole.

Sincerely,
Skylar Weitzel
20-year Erie resident

Erie Town Councilperson Brandon Bell replies to resident Skylar Weitzel as well as all council members.

The post Letter to the Editor: Erie Town Council 8/26/25: Erie Deserves Better Than Toxic Male Fragility appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

The scope and reach of the Trump administration’s willingness to weaponize Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to deport people who have caused “political dissent” has left many understandably concerned. Senate Bill 25-276, titled “Protect Civil Rights Immigration Status,” aims to strengthen civil rights protections for individuals in Colorado, regardless of their immigration status.

The bill sets restrictions on state and law enforcement cooperation with federal immigration agencies and protects the immigration status of individuals looking to access basic services. The bill’s 7 key provisions are broken down below:

1. Elimination of Immigration Affidavit Requirements
   Previously, individuals without lawful immigration status were required to submit affidavits when applying for in-state tuition or driver’s licenses, affirming their intent to seek legal status. This bill removes those affidavit requirements, simplifying access to these services.?
2. Restrictions on Law Enforcement Collaboration with Federal Immigration Authorities
   The bill prohibits law enforcement officers from arresting or detaining individuals solely based on federal immigration detainer requests. It also bars jail officials from delaying the release of individuals who have posted bonds to facilitate immigration enforcement operations.?
3. Protection of Personal Information
   State agencies and their employees are currently restricted in collecting and sharing personal identifying information. This bill extends those restrictions to local government entities and their employees, enhancing privacy protections.?
4. Access Limitations to Public Facilities
   Federal immigration authorities are prohibited from accessing non-public areas in public institutions such as schools, childcare centers, and healthcare facilities without a judicial warrant. This measure aims to protect the privacy and rights of individuals within these facilities.?
5. Right to Challenge Certain Convictions
   The bill expands the ability for individuals to petition courts to vacate guilty pleas for certain misdemeanors and petty offenses if they were not properly informed about the immigration consequences of their pleas.?
6. Mandatory Institutional Policies
   By September 1, 2025, public institutions covered by this bill must establish clear policies regarding interactions with federal immigration authorities. These policies should outline procedures for handling information requests and designate staff responsible for compliance.?
7. Penalties for Non-Compliance
   Institutions that intentionally violate the provisions of this bill may face civil penalties of up to $50,000 per violation. Funds collected from these penalties will be directed to the Immigration Legal Defense Fund.

Senate Bill 25-276 expands on the protections established by the 2019 “Protect Colorado Residents From Federal Government Overreach Act” by broadening restrictions on local cooperation with federal immigration authorities and strengthening civil rights protections for all residents, regardless of immigration status. While the earlier law limited law enforcement’s ability to honor federal immigration detainers, SB25-276 extends those restrictions to all law enforcement and adds prohibitions against sharing or collecting personal immigration-related information without legal cause.

It also bars public institutions like schools and hospitals from allowing federal immigration agents access to non-public areas without a judicial warrant, ensures individuals can challenge certain convictions if they weren’t informed of immigration consequences, mandates clear institutional policies on handling federal immigration requests, and imposes penalties up to $50,000 for violations—redirecting those funds to an Immigration Legal Defense Fund.

The introduction of this bill comes after the arrest and detainment of Immigration rights activist Jeanette Vizguerra. A petition for her release has over 13,000 signatures, and several protests have been held outside the ICE facility in Aurora where she is being held.

Earlier this month, Columbia student and organizer of last Spring’s pro-Palestinian student-led protests, Mahmoud Khalil, was arrested despite being a green card holder. His arrest was made when federal agents entrapped him during a phony citizenship test. Department of Homeland Security officials claimed that if Khalil had mentioned his intentions to protest on his citizenship applications, he would have never been allowed into the country in the first place.

In Maryland, Kilmar Abrego Garcia was wrongfully arrested and deported to El Salvador, despite having a court order that specifically specified that he not be sent back to his home country due to the risk of violence at the hands of gang members who had been threatening his family. A federal immigration lawyer later admitted this was done in error, and the SCOTUS ruled to reverse the deportation immediately. Both the admin and El Salvador claim they are powerless to bring Garcia back.

Most recently, Trump has mentioned the idea of sending “homegrown,” ie, American citizens, to the prison camp in El Salvador. The Terrorism Confinement Center (Spanish: Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo, abbreviated as CECOT) is a maximum security prison that was built in 2022. A 60-minute report found that of 238 Venezuelan migrants recently sent to CECOT, 75% had no criminal record, and at least 22% of the men had non-violent offenses such as theft, shoplifting, and trespassing.

Sponsors of SB 25-276 declined to comment when asked if the bill was in direct response to recent events at the federal level.

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The post New Senate Bills Aims to Shore Up Immigration Protections Under Mounting Concerns appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

Thousands of Coloradans gathered at the State Capital building in Denver on Wednesday for a massive day of protest. Protesters and speakers expressed their many grievances with the current presidential administration, from Elon Musk’s unelected power to major cuts in funding for federal programs. However, deportation and immigration took precedence, as ICE began raids in Denver, Aurora, and the greater metro Area earlier this week.

This month, a series of ICE raids targeted immigrant families across the Denver metro area. Over 100 federal and local agents, including those from ICE, FBI, and DHS, participated in these operations.  According to immigration advocates and volunteers on the ground, the raids occurred without presenting judicial warrants and left communities terrified and in turmoil as individuals—some of whom were actively seeking asylum—were detained without cause.

Busloads of students and staff from APS and DPS attended Wednesday’s protest.

The Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition (CIRC) and other advocacy groups condemned the raids as unjustified and indiscriminate, describing them as a direct attack on immigrant families trying to build better lives.

“These raids are a disgraceful abuse of power, an attack on families, and a direct attempt to criminalize immigrants,” said Andrea Loya, Executive Director of Casa De Paz.

Caitlin Trent, Political Director of CIRC, decried the raids as “indiscriminate shows of force” that violated constitutional rights and only served to instill fear in the immigrant community. Several reports indicated that ICE agents went door to door, destroyed property, and used excessive force, including rubber bullets, to pursue tenants in apartment complexes.

Advocates emphasized the misuse of public resources in these operations, which they argue are politically motivated. “This is a waste of taxpayer dollars and an insult to law enforcement officers who should be working on real investigations,” said Henry Sandman, Co-Executive Director of CIRC. They also noted that communities are safer when law enforcement isn’t engaged in immigration enforcement and when immigrants feel secure enough to report crimes without fear of deportation.

The raids sparked a powerful response from the community, with volunteers stepping in to inform residents of their rights, preventing further detentions. “An informed community is a protected one,” said V Reeves, a local organizer with Housekeys Action Network Denver. ICE agents left a raid at the now infamous Edge at Lowry complex empty-handed after residents refused to open their doors.

Coloradans express deep disdain for Trump administration

Community members rallied by the thousands at the Capitol to demand an end to these raids and to call for the protection of immigrant rights. The advocacy groups continue to push for justice, with upcoming marches and rallies planned for Saturday, February 8, to show solidarity and resist the criminalization of immigrants.

In the face of fear and intimidation, Coloradans are united in their determination to protect immigrant families and fight for a future of dignity and democracy.

The post Colorado Shows Up for Migrants in Midst of Rampant ICE Raids appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

The Trump administration aims to support the oil and gas industry. Trump’s policy mind has a track record of thwarting environmental activism, and his political allies profit from natural resources. The oil and gas industry have the same priorities, for the most part. Yellow Scene Magazine (YS) looks at the key information regarding environmental and energy policy “Trumping” into the 2025 republican enterprise. 

The American Petroleum Institute (API) published a five-point policy roadmap shortly after the 2024 presidential election. The roadmap prioritizes five ideal Trump-administration energy actions. These actions are protecting consumer choice, bolstering geopolitical strength, leveraging natural resources, reforming our permitting system, and advancing sensible tax policy.

“Leveraging natural resources” means revoking the Biden Administration’s offshore program: 

“Unfortunately, the previous administration impeded resource development, including implementing the weakest offshore leasing program in history. A pro-American energy approach is needed to initiate a new era of federal energy leasing. Oil and natural gas production from federal lands and waters offers tremendous benefits to all and is using the highest safety and environmental standards. Given the scale of our resource base, opportunities for development stretch decades into the future.”

Permitting reform fastens faulty energy infrastructure repairs: 

“Americans can’t drive down the road without witnessing firsthand our failing infrastructure. Unfortunately, it is even worse than potholes and crumbling bridges. Burdensome regulations and government red tape have made it impossible to build anything in this country. We need smart, comprehensive permitting reform that ensures transparency, predictability, timeliness, and durability.”

Advanced “sensible tax policy” faithfully withstands American-produced energy:

“Industry investment rests on sound, predictable tax policy. With many key tax provisions expiring at the end of next year, it is critical they be extended to ensure the next chapter of our energy future is once again written here in America.”

Project 2025 And The National Picture

Some members of the oil and gas industry are more progressive than others. Not all of them care about conserving profits more than environmental justice. Some care about a balanced economy that also benefits the environment. Trump’s all-the-above energy solution supports sustainable energy sources. This republican agenda includes creating jobs, maintaining domestic supply, and boosting the economy. 

A Law360 report suggests that citizens should expect oil and gas decisions to look more like merger and acquisition (M&A) business deals. However nuanced the case may be, Trump’s agenda is to ramp up fossil fuels and resist sustainable energy emerging from the hottest year on record. 

“Just days after the election, we are already seeing big polluters emboldened by Donald Trump’s agenda to increase costly fossil fuel use and devastate our public health and our environment,” Sierra Club Executive Director Ben Jealous said in a press release. 

“Ramping up coal use would mean higher monthly costs for ratepayers, more deadly pollution in our communities, and more climate chaos, all for the sake of boosting profits for coal executives.”

The coal industry is weakening because it is an archaic model. Other sources of natural gas are more affordable. Many of the people in control of the energy industry are right-leaning conservatives — the type of people who vote for Trump because their interest is maximizing profits. The fossil fuel industry has a disproportionate financial and lobbying influence, according to AmericanProgress.org. 

This influence undermines popular views and hinders climate action proposals. With Republicans dominating all three branches of The U.S. federal government, the authors of Project 2025 intend to self-regulate the interests of conservatives. Even though Trump has distanced himself from Project 2025, his track record of deregulation will continue to put profit over people.

California And Colorado Lead The Fight to Protect The Environment

During Trump’s first presidency, California won most of its court cases to protect environmental regulations. 

“The good news for California,” said Ann Carlson, an environmental law professor and director of the Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, “is that the first Trump administration lost 83% of its court cases involving attempts to roll back environmental regulations.” Neither the Bush nor the Trump administration impeded the state’s defense of air quality and climate change. States’ rights’ survival is the fittest. 

“When the Trump administration attempted to roll back California’s standards, many major automakers chose to negotiate with the state instead to avoid the uncertainty.” Cal Matters reports.

 “The state in 2020 finalized an agreement with BMW, Ford, Honda, Volkswagen Group of America, and Volvo, which agreed to follow the state’s standards through 2026 regardless of what the federal government did.” Some major corporations care about the well-being of the American people, after all. Although, actions speak louder than words.

Colorado boasts some of the cleanest air quality in the world. But this state has more hurdles to overcome than the political powerhouse known as California. 

“Despite Colorado operators producing some of the cleanest molecules of energy in the world under stringent environmental protections,” Dan Haley, the president of the Colorado Oil and Gas Association trade group, told The Denver Gazette, “federal permit processing and leasing significantly slowed during the Biden administration, with only one lease auction held in Colorado.” 

“For far too long, federal lands in Colorado have been leased to big polluters for pennies on the dollar — often with disastrous long-term results for our climate and communities,” Conservation Colorado Executive Director Kelly Nordini stated in The Colorado Sun.

“President Biden’s order pausing this outdated practice is long overdue.” Democratic change comes out like the minimal toothpaste in a shared bathroom. Industry and local officials report that blocking the activity on federal lands responsible for a significant portion of oil and gas in the United States would devastate employment and slash government budgets.

“Colorado’s oil and gas industry understands the importance of responsible energy production and operates under some of the most stringent regulatory standards in the world,” API Colorado Director Kait Schwartz told The Denver Gazette. 

“While we support balanced federal energy policies, we will continue to lead by example by maintaining our commitment to responsible energy production.” 

The Trump Administration does not care much about sustainability. Individuals and states play a crucial role in sustaining environmental justice. Standing solidarity ensures corporations’ monetary interests do not override Mother Earth’s needs. 

The post Preventing An Energy Collapse Under The 2nd Trump Administration appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

11/20/2024 Updated to reflect new reported vote numbers: Trump: 76,781,645, Harris: 74,256,209

Sitting down to write this month’s Publisher’s Note has been tough. This past week has pretty much been wasted. I have a long to-do list, and as an independent media still committed to true journalism, I can’t afford to take midweek days off. But I was spent. I couldn’t focus on anything in front of me.

Yellow Scene Magazine (YS) did not endorse Donald J. Trump in our Annual Election Guide. In fact, we rated him as too extreme—and we stand by that rating. America now faces a potential future of fascism and tyranny, where lives and loss of rights are at very real risk. It’s disheartening that we’ve reached a point where some find joy in the pain others express over these outcomes. 

Matthew Shepard

I am preparing for those who supported Donald J. Trump to feel emboldened. What I fear most is seeing people targeted, beaten, or attacked for simply being who they are—especially those who don’t fit the vision of America outlined in Project 2025 and those who oppose it.

Project 2025 isn’t new; its roots trace back to the 1970s. After the New Deal and the revolutionary progress of the 60s, the right realized it couldn’t win elections if left solely to voters. As America moved beyond the Robber Baron and Slaveowner eras, those clinging to the past organized, launching think tanks and securing corporate funding. Over the last 40 years, anti-trust laws and civil liberties eroded, granting corporations more rights than individuals. Both Republicans, led by Ronald Reagan, and Democrats, including Bill Clinton, played a role. As Heather Cox Richardson notes in Democracy Awakening, no single party will “save us.”

I’m troubled by how the mainstream media framed this election. Throughout the campaign, major networks portrayed Donald Trump as a legitimate candidate, often overlooking his 34 felony convictions, numerous civil suits, and involvement in the January 6 insurrection. In their pursuit of ratings, they failed to present all the facts, leading to the normalization of a candidate with a significant criminal record.

Since the election, they have presented a narrative of how America moved right. This is not factually correct.  In 2020, Trump received 74,224,319 votes. In 2024, he received 74,312,688. In 2020, Joseph Biden received 81,282,916 votes, and Kamala Harris garnered 70,383,093.

It is not so much that Trump won but that the Democrats lost. 

This isn’t to overlook the nearly 300 years of racism, sexism, patriarchy, and classism that are embedded in America’s foundation. Manifest Destiny and Chattel Slavery remain horrendous stains on our history, and racism and sexism are far from over—they persist in plain sight. But the deeper question is, why did 12 million people choose not to vote this time?

Voter suppression is still very real, and it certainly plays a role. However, in 2020, we had a national mail-in ballot system due to the pandemic, which made voting more accessible. This is precisely why Republicans work so hard to erode voting rights. Meanwhile, Democrats failed to effectively communicate how they would protect and uplift Americans, leading many to stay home.

I recently joined Denver journalist and influencer Jeff Fard on his show for a deep and thoughtful conversation. We delved into many topics, and while I didn’t have answers to all the questions, two points stood out: Jeff suggested that the first female president of the United States could likely be a Republican. More importantly, he emphasized that white people might abandon “woke” efforts and revert to a default state of whiteness to navigate the current climate. I fear this potential silence as much as I fear Project 2025.

You can watch the full discussion here: 

The Robber Baron’s corrupt business practices set the stage for the Great Depression. The 2008 Great Recession showed us that unfettered capitalism inevitably leads to collapse. America thrived most from the 1930s to the 1980s, a period when big business was also heavily regulated. Before Jack Welch took over General Electric, corporations prioritized a balanced approach: growing their businesses, providing stable jobs, and generating profits for shareholders, all while considering long-term sustainability and the greater good. Profit wasn’t the sole focus—there was a broader sense of responsibility. Welch changed that, championing the idea that shareholder value should come above all else. This shift moved corporate America away from a holistic role in society.

Today, we’re left with a proliferation of billionaires who, in my opinion, are overly idolized. Meanwhile, wages stagnate, the cost of living skyrockets, small businesses are squeezed, and industries and companies are gutted—all so a small elite can control 90% of the world’s wealth.

I don’t know what the future holds, and right now, it doesn’t look very bright. But throughout history, humans have endured cruel and unjust practices, and over time, humanity seems to push progress forward. It’s the short term that’s frightening. While I fear for what lies ahead for LGBTQ+, BIPOC, immigrants, women, and all other marginalized groups in our country, I have been in this fight for a long time.

In 2001, YS was just a few months old. We had grown from a simple yellow flyer into a true community resource. Then 9/11 happened, and I faced a pivotal decision: What kind of publication would we be? Would we stay silent and stick to safe stories, or would we speak out? We chose the latter, taking a stand against the Iraq War.

Looking back, I’m comfortable with the issues I’ve chosen to speak out on throughout my life. As a child, I didn’t understand why my Black friends and I couldn’t play together more often or why some people lived in slums while I lived in the suburbs. By my twenties, civil liberties became my focus, and back then, we believed we could win those battles.

I rebelled against the “Greed is Good” mantra of the 80s and vocally opposed Ronald Reagan, which didn’t win me new friends. I understood why the riots happened after the police beat Rodney King, and I was told I didn’t understand the nuances when I tried to explain. I spoke out against apartheid in South Africa and stood in support of Nelson Mandela. As a woman in business, I fought for equal treatment and batted away more than one unwelcome hand as a waitress.

I’ve taken a stand on Ireland’s right to self-rule, opposed Bush’s invasion of Iraq, and reminded people that the U.S. had one of the worst UN violation records—perhaps why 9/11 happened. I went to Standing Rock, covered the 2020 racial justice protests, and loudly fought against Oil and Gas harming human lives while advocating for alternative energy. I’ve pushed for criminal justice reform and spoken against the Prison Industrial Complex (everyone on the planet needs to watch the documentary 13th). I’ve called out the trauma at the root of addiction and our nation’s abhorrent treatment of mental health. Over the 24 years (soon to be 25) I’ve owned YS, I’ve published countless articles rallying against antisemitism. I’ve stood firmly against supporting the genocide of Palestinians, and looking ahead, I’ll be vocal about Project 2025, too.

I am discouraged that all the progress we’ve made could be undone in the face of Project 2025. I’ve dedicated my life to local journalism, and after 38 years, I believe in its importance now more than ever. Journalism must speak truth to power and hold those in power accountable. But despite the challenges, I also believe in humanity. There will always be truth-tellers. We may face threats, violence, and even death, but humanity does eventually seem to keep moving forward, even if prevailing feels uncertain right now.

As a community, we face a choice: Do we come together and keep fighting, or do we retreat underground and stay silent?

For my part, I will continue the mission of producing local journalism as we head into our 25th year in 2025. However, this is no small task. I have a team to support—writers, artists, printers, drivers, and our bookkeeper—all of whom make this work possible.

Next year marks our 25th anniversary. While I’m uncertain how celebratory the occasion will feel, I am committed to fostering joy and a sense of community amidst it all. Over the years, we’ve tackled vital topics like mental health, trauma, climate change, disaster recovery, economic crises, education, voting, democracy, justice, elections, corruption (both local and national), culture, and even marketing.

We must remain rooted in our community to find hope for our future. And to continue delivering truth to that community, we need your support.

The next issue coming up is our Annual Locavore Holiday Guide.

When you support the local businesses in our community, you support your neighbor, not the Billionaires. For this Holiday Season, vote with your pocketbook. 

Now more than ever, local journalism is essential. Please consider becoming a sustaining supporter and start receiving the printed copy at home. Research shows that most of us prefer reading on paper—it’s just crucial that what’s printed truly matters. YS is dedicated to bringing you the stories and insights we all need to stay informed, engaged, and connected to our community.

The poem read on Jeff Fard’s show:

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Like journalism like this? Consider becoming a sustaining supporter (and get our printed copy monthly at home.)

Democracy needs journalism more than ever. We’ve been telling the truth for 24 years. Your support helps us keep telling it for at least the next four years.

Democracy needs journalism more than ever. We’ve been telling the truth for 24 years. Your support helps us keep telling it for at least the next four years.

The post Elections and Holidays: At Least We Have Christmas to Look Forward To appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

Waking up this morning to a snow-covered Denver, I reflected on last night’s events with a surreal platitude one reserves for dreams. I felt a strange disconnectedness from the world around me, a creeping apathetic hedonism that will likely propel me through the next several months. My co-workers at my day job, a High School within the Denver Public School system, shared both my anxiety and apathy for the state of things.

Last night, Donald Trump overwhelmingly won both the popular vote and the Electoral College. And before people go pointing fingers, though I’m sure this has already started, not a single third-party candidate won any Electoral College votes. Whether they were in a swing state or a blue strong-hold like Colorado, third-party voters could not have saved Harris from this devastating loss.

Republicans are also projected to take a majority in the Senate, flipping seats in West Virginia, Ohio, and Montana. The House race is still too close to call.

In Colorado, progressives passed Amendment 79 and Amendment J, codifying the rights to same-sex marriage and abortion in the state’s constitution. Voters also passed taxes on sports betting and firearm sales.

The state’s justice system will see changes starting in 2025, with voters passing measures that remove the right to bail in case of first-degree murder and requiring persons convicted of certain violent crimes to serve more of their sentence before being eligible for parole.

Colorado voters also chose to keep money out of politics by rejecting Kent Thriy’s Proposition 131 to change Colorado elections to open primaries and switch to ranked-choice voting. Shrouded in popular progressive election reform, Prop 131 would have transformed Colorado’s primaries into a pay-to-play format, allowing politically active billionaires like Thiry to easily throw their hat in the ring with little popular support.

Yellow Scene covered Thiry’s marred past in politics and various legal battles extensively earlier this year.

Though several bomb threats were made to polling stations in swing states, none of these threats proved credible, and voting resumed at all locations after authorities had cleared the sites as safe. Democrats online have begun, ironically, making claims of election fraud, which, as of right now, are completely unfounded.

While all of the votes have yet to be counted, several credible publications have called the 2024 Presidential Election in favor of Trump, with him winning in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania. Kamala Harris is expected to concede Wednesday afternoon.

In the face of a second Trump presidency, community connections and mutual aid will be the path to getting through an instable future. In the meantime, Yellow Scene will stay dedicated to speaking truth to power and providing the Front Range with invaluable fact-based journalism.

Like journalism like this? Consider becoming a sustaining supporter (and get our printed copy monthly at home.)

Democracy needs journalism more than ever. We’ve been telling the truth for 24 years. Your support helps us keep telling it for at least the next four years.

Democracy needs journalism more than ever. We’ve been telling the truth for 24 years. Your support helps us keep telling it for at least the next four years.

The post What Just Happened: Election Results From Colorado Ballot Measures to Democratic Defeat appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

Early in former President Trump’s term, he had a big idea to prevent undocumented immigrants from crossing the southern border, and it was not a wall.

“I want a big, deep moat!” He exclaimed to Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielson. According to Miles Taylor, Nielson’s Chief of Staff, Trump explained that he wanted this moat filled with snakes and alligators to, as Taylor put it, “eat people alive if they fell into it.”

This bizarre exchange was described by Taylor in his book Blowback: A Warning to Save Democracy from the Next Trump, a book I have read and highly recommend. But be warned– it is horrifying.

The snake and alligator-infested moat would be one of Trump’s many “bad idea bonfires,” and Taylor and his colleagues would find themselves repeatedly trying to extinguish them using various tactics of distraction, delay, or compromise.

In another disturbing example, according to Taylor, Trump frequently expressed confusion over why he could not simply order federal law enforcement officers to use violence against migrants or Black Lives Matter protesters. This account has been corroborated by former Defense Secretary Mark Esper, who quoted Trump as saying, “can’t you just shoot them? Just shoot them in the legs or something.”

Distracting Trump from doing horrible things to people was exhausting work that would ultimately lead to Trump’s Chief of Staff, John Kelly, describing Trump in this way:

John Kelly during his time in the white house. Photo credit: Boston Globe

“He is the most flawed person I have ever met in my life,” – former Trump Administration Chief of Staff John Kelly

Like his colleagues, Miles Taylor joined the Trump Administration as a believer—a Trump supporter willing to go to political war for this unconventional firebrand. Trump was shaking up the American political landscape in ways that engendered a fanatical following among a large swath of the conservative American electorate, and Taylor was eager to be a part of the movement.

But, like many of his colleagues, Taylor experienced on the inside a funhouse mirrored terror mansion of chaos led by an aspiring strongman with no regard for democratic principles, governing standards, or basic human decency. As a result of this experience, Taylor did something extraordinarily bold.

Photo Credit: New York Times

In 2018 he wrote an anonymous New York Times op-ed titled “I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration.” The subtitle of this shocking article read: “I work for the president, but like-minded colleagues and I have vowed to thwart parts of his agenda and his worst inclinations.”

The op-ed sent President Trump into a rage as he vowed to root out the mole in his midst. The hunt was unsuccessful. Taylor revealed himself as “Anonymous” when he resigned his position in the Trump Administration more than two years later, in October 2020. For months afterward, Taylor endured relentless death threats and harassment.

One may read into Taylor’s action an act of treason. A White House insider actively working against the will of the President and Commander in Chief? And therein lies the heart of exactly why a demagogue like Donald Trump is so incredibly dangerous for the future of American democracy. It reveals that the strength of our democracy lies purely in the hearts and minds of the men and women whom we entrust to lead our nation as elected representatives.

We may have a constitution, but the reality is that it isn’t worth anything unless our elected representatives carry out their democratic duties in good faith and in alignment with constitutional principles.  Our democracy rests on a foundation, not of a document, but of a set of unwritten principles and traditions voluntarily adhered to by those who we, the people, entrust with enormous power and responsibility.

George Washington, our first president, set the standard for one of those principles—respect for the peaceful transfer of power. It is a sacred obligation that, after almost two and a half centuries, was shattered by Donald Trump’s failure to concede a lost election and his systematic attempts to unconstitutionally overturn its results to keep himself in power, including the incitement of a violent attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.

This historical context brings us to the reason why Project 2025 presents a profound danger to the future of America. While the media has mainly focused on the many draconian policy ideas within the document, they are largely failing to articulate that the greater danger is that Project 2025 is a playbook for removing the guardrails from a second Trump presidency—one that he has already stated will be driven by retribution in a second term of vengeance and political targeting.

The first three words in the 930-page Project 2025 document are “We want you!!”

Published in early 2023 voluntarily by the Heritage Foundation, a long-standing conservative political think tank, Project 2025 is a call to arms. It is a recruitment tool to create a standing army-in-waiting of MAGA loyalists who will be ready, eager, and specifically trained to fill the ranks of the civil service (what Trump calls the “deep state”) to carry out the orders of the next Trump presidency without question or hesitation. These institutions harbor great powers within them that, if used against the American people at the behest of a vengeful president, can destroy our republic and our democracy as we know it from within.

The primary objective of Project 2025, therefore, is not about draconian policy ideas like abolishing the Department of Education. It is about turning the management of the traditionally non-partisan civil service into a cabal of MAGA loyalists who will act on political rather than professional directives.

The Project 2025 document explicitly states that the “next conservative president” must be willing to grab extraordinary executive powers so that he can then “hand the power back to the people” once the federal government has been overhauled to match the vision of MAGA.

This is an egregiously dangerous perspective when their favored candidate already tried once to overthrow the American government after losing an election. Do they really think that, once power is grabbed through their playbook, Trump would behave like Washington and not like Orban or Mussolini?

The authors of Project 2025 must know that Trump is no Washington, which is why the document is so sinister in nature. The logical conclusion is that the Project 2025 authors want an authoritarian Trump who will steamroll over our democracy to achieve their objectives of “making America great again” by their definition only.

After all, the current Heritage Foundation President, Kevin Roberts, recently stated on Steve Bannon’s “War Room” podcast that “we are in the process of the second American revolution, which will remain bloodless if the left allows it.”

The main mechanism of this so-called “revolution” is the planned overhauling of the administrative state, replacing career civil servants with political loyalists. This goal is explicitly stated on pages 20 and 21 of Project 2025:

“…the new administration must fill its ranks with political appointees.”

“When it comes to ensuring that freedom can flourish, nothing is more important than deconstructing the centralized administrative state. Political appointees who are answerable to the President and have decision-making authority in the executive branch are key to this essential task. The next Administration must not cede such authority to non-partisan “experts.”

This recruitment drive for loyalists is so core to the Project 2025 agenda that it is represented as one of its four main pillars, specifically stated in the document as “a personnel database.”

Kevin Roberts, President of the Heritage Foundation, has claimed “We are building a pipeline of conservative talent that is ready to step into key roles and implement our vision for America.”

Former head of Project 2025 Paul Dans claimed “We have a database with over 10,000 people from all walks of life entering into this, aspiring to serve. We want people who’ve been canceled, who’ve figuratively given blood for the movement. These are mums who’ve challenged school boards. These are people who’ve stood up in their companies and said, ‘Enough with [diversity, equity, and inclusion] and the whole woke agenda.’”

Many of these recruits are people who have filled out the vetting questionnaire on Project2025.org — political loyalists rather than the non-partisan experts who have traditionally filled the ranks of the civil service since the late 1800s.

The century-and-a-half long tradition of filling federal government positions with non-partisan experts is one of those unwritten foundational principles that has kept our democracy intact. Past presidents going back at least to Grover Cleveland have understood and largely adhered to the necessity of keeping political influence out of the day-to-day responsibilities of civil servants ranging from EPA environmental scientists to FBI investigators.

Project 2025’s brazen call to reverse this tradition and suggest that these career positions be qualified, not by experience and training in their field, but by a loyalty test to the MAGA movement, is dangerous. It becomes profoundly alarming if the occupant of the oval office has already stated and demonstrated anti-democratic and authoritarian tendencies, and has already tried once before to overturn the will of the people.

Overhauling the civil service (i.e., “deep state”) with political loyalists would require firing and replacing tens of thousands of federal government employees. Most of these jobs typically carry over from one administration to the next. So how would the next Trump carry out this hostile takeover?

There is a plan for that, and it was already enacted once by Trump at the end of his last term. In October 2020, anticipating re-election the next month, Trump signed an executive order instituting “Schedule F,” which created a new employment category for federal employees that gives the president the authority to directly hire and fire vastly larger numbers of federal employees to the tune of many tens of thousands.

This order was immediately rescinded by President Biden upon his taking office in 2021, like putting a risen demon back into the earth. But there is no question that Trump would re-institute this order probably on day one of his presidency—one of the many “dictator-for-a-day” orders he may sign on January 21, 2025.

Trump would likely use the power of the executive order to push through an agenda that would have no chance in the legislative chambers. This possible landslide of executive orders would need to be implemented by the thousands of civil servants in the various federal agencies involved. Schedule F creates the mechanism for the next MAGA president to stuff the executive branch with loyalists who, rather than preventing the president from doing horrible things, would likely carry out his vengeful orders.

And this is where the Supreme Court’s recent ruling on presidential immunity comes in, supercharging this danger to alarming levels. Prior to this decision, Project 2025’s playbook for MAGA authoritarianism was still a road full of rocks and potholes. The conservative super-majority Supreme Court just paved that road over with a red carpeted conveyor belt for the first American dictator to ride into unchecked power.

Photo credit: Adam Szuscik via Unsplash

For almost two hundred and fifty years, the American people lived under the belief that no American, even the president, was above the law. The U.S. Supreme Court in Trump vs. The United States changed that overnight in what many legal scholars have called one of the most misguided and dangerous rulings in its entire history. Their ruling largely grants the U.S. president broad immunity from prosecution for anything arbitrarily deemed an “official act.”

While this ruling caused a prosecutorial delay in the January 6th-related cases against Trump (Federal and State of Georgia), it may not insulate him from conviction in those cases as federal prosecutors argue that his actions were undertaken as a candidate for office, not as president, and therefore cannot be considered “official acts” of the president. The merits of that argument, however, are untested under the new presidential immunity powers granted by the Supreme Court.

The danger, however, lies in a future President Trump who may seek to legally insulate his directives by declaring them official presidential acts. Furthermore, the Supreme Court explicitly protected the president from prosecution over any interaction between the president and the Department of Justice, opening the door wide open for targeted prosecution of political opponents or extrajudicial crackdowns on U.S. Citizens under easily fabricated emergency powers such as the Insurrection Act

The Supreme Court decision on presidential immunity arguably throws a wet blanket on any future Trump Administration insiders who may still be left trying to hold up the now rickety guardrails against his criminality if for no other reason than to protect their own skin.

Combine that with a president’s broad power of the pardon, including the preemptive pardon, and you have a wide-open path for the next (and even current) president to do almost whatever he or she wants with little fear or threat of future prosecution.

When Trump distances himself from Project 2025, he is playing a game the media is buying into by focusing on the policy proposals in the document. Trump does not care about those policy ideas. He can refute and disown them for political cover. What Trump is interested in from Project 2025 is the playbook for a power grab and its pre-vetted loyalist political army-in-waiting so that he can punish his political enemies and carry out his often horrible and immoral ideas without obstruction (i.e., “just shoot them in the legs or something.”)

Make no mistake; if Trump is re-elected, he absolutely has a clear path to dictatorship, cut wide open by the playbook that is Project 2025 and the legal cover that this conservative Supreme Court just unleashed.

Many frustrated Americans may relish the idea of a Trump dictatorship to relieve their problems and perceived grievances. For almost a decade the MAGA movement has stoked and reinforced the fear and anger of their followers. They are angry because they are told they should be. They are fearful because they are told they need to be. They are hateful because they are told it’s okay to be.

But modern history is fraught with examples of this foolishness. When democracy is undermined by a vengeful demagogue who plays on the people’s fear, anger, and hatred, it ends badly for everyone. Only a few decades ago authoritarian regimes, whether fascist or communist, in Europe and elsewhere promised grand authoritarian solutions (and retribution for trumped up grievances), but ended in the horrific destruction of whole societies, genocides, and wars of annihilation.

It would be hyperbolic to conclude with certainty that a second Trump Administration will lead us into such horrific turmoil. But it would be equally naive to assume that we can take another giant step onto that slippery slide of fascism and assume we will be able to arrest our accelerating descent towards its terrifying destinations.

Project 2025 is a playbook that gives extraordinary powers to the presidency in the foolish expectation that the president who benefits from that power would then voluntarily dilute it again. That is the dangerous plan.

The reality is that a vengeful and aging President Trump will likely use those powers, newly unhindered through the installation of an army of pre-vetted political loyalists operating under the cover of a preemptive pardon and the Supreme Court’s presidential immunity decision, to potentially unleash an American presidential fury that could send the nation into a dark vault of political chaos and even violence.

Supreme Court Justice Sotomayor was not speaking in hyperbolic terms in her rebuttal to the catastrophic presidential immunity decision when she wrote, “with fear for our democracy, I dissent.”

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The post Project 2025: Red Carpet to American Autocracy appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

[ Local ]

• CO Springs settles $2 milloin lawsuit from three officers beating Black man during a traffic stop
• Boulder plans to install “bi-directional” car chargers that will be able to both charge vehicles and power buildings
•  Ranchers bemoan the loss of half a dozen cattle, call for halts, after wildlife experts reintroduce native Grey wolves to Colorado in a move that will help restore natural balance and strengthen the ecosystem
• Colorado prisoners injured while performing hard labor at below minimum wage for corporations have little recourse to sue, cannot protest, and can be sent to solitary confinement as punishment for not working
  The Northern Lights make an extremely rare appearance over Colorado skies putting on a natural light show for anyone with clear skies

[ National ]

• Trump makes several statements over the month, indicating he will revoke any LGBTQ+ protections he can, tells donors he supports Israel “crushing” Palestinians, and will deport students for protesting
• Supreme Court rules that a gerrymandered South Carolina district can stay rigged, which in effect excludes thousands of Black voters
• Biden and Trump agree to a debate in June, likely to change absolutely no one’s opinion of either candidate
• Judge Cannon indefinitely postpones trial on the former President’s mishandling of classified information, in a sign that our courts are totally healthy and functioning as they should to protect democracy and hold power accountable…

[ International ]

• U.S. State Department states it is logical to conclude that Israel has committed war crimes and violated international law, yet weapons are still being sent to the belligerent party
• Iranian president dies in a fiery mountain helicopter crash during foggy conditions on a mountain range near Armenia
• Horrifyingly, but not surprisingly, Human Rights Watch states that Israeli attacks on aid being sent to Palestinians are “not unusual”
• Assassination attempt against Slovakia’s far-right Prime Minister leaves him gravely wounded but luckily still alive, attacker was arrested immediately

Quotes

“These efforts target and single out an already vulnerable group of kids and, if successful, will place an additional administrative burden on our already-overworked teachers, coaches, and school administrators” – Bruce Parker of Out Boulder on anti_LGBTQ+ ballot initiative

“…under new anti-terrorism legislation just passed by the U.S. House of Representatives, that kind of hard-hitting investigative journalism could cost The Intercept our nonprofit status” – The Intercept about  losing funding over their criticism of the Israeli war in Gaza

“I used to believe I was born biologically… upon reflecting on my experiences I was convinced God had sent me” – Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India, the world’s largest democracy

“All Colorado parents should be aiming to remove their children from public education” – email directive from director of special initiatives for the Colorado GOP

By the Numbers

$2 Million / 17 Children

City of Uvalde settles with the families of 17 children killed in the mass shooting that continued because of incompetent law enforcement

34 of 34

Guilty counts for the first ever felony conviction of a former president

2025

Project 2025 openly calls for an authoritarian take-over of the federal government following the next Republican presidential victory, remaking the presidency using executions and the military to quell opposition

50th / 1.1%

Colorado saw the second smallest increase in teachers’ salaries nationwide, at just over 1%, ranking 50 out of 51 (including Washington D.C.)

-18%

Property crime rates in Boulder dropped by almost 1/5 since 2020, but report notes violent crime rates have risen slightly over the same period

The post Month in Review | May 2024 appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.