Happily married & Trying to Live not by Lies in Denver, Colorado. Picture of the lake and boathouse, City Park 9/2014

Denver
Joined August 2021
A friend asked for annual counts on fatal ODs, so I put this together. (2026 is Jan-July only). As I was updating the 2026 numbers, I realized the Denver Medical Examiner's Office no longer includes 2018 and 2019 in their fatal overdose dashboard.* A pity. Without that context, you'd think our fatals had always been this high. With it, you see the arrival of fentanyl on the streets and the impacts of state and local policy changes. *Interestingly, 2018 and 2019 data are still available on the ME's dashboards for homicides, traffic fatalities, su---des, and homeless fatalities. Just not those dead by drugs. Why take off the 2018 and 2019 data?
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⚠️No⚠️ Elon has not ever responded to my QTs and he may well not do now - but for anyone wanting to know why I give a resounding NO‼️ Here’s why……..and why it goes to the heart of American Independence, unalienable rights and Constitutional Republican self governance in operation. The American Founders’ insistence that man ‘must be neither a ‘dog’ nor a ‘horse’…….’ doesn’t simply refer to a commentary on barbarism, collectivism, tribalism, social status or station - but to man’s metaphysical capacity - his ontological rational and moral agency as a bearer of logos (imago Dei) as codified in the first principles of the Declaration of Independence, which is necessary for the preservation of a free republic. A dog follows commands. A horse may be trained and directed (behaviourist Education Pedagogy and institutional/organizational/managerial procedure, policy etc). But both ‘dog & horse’ are governed externally (tyranny of Hegelian State and the political/ideological warfare of propaganda operations). The Founders explicitly rejected the illegitimate tyrannical notion that man is to be managed through coercion, impulse conditioning, or elite rule. They understood that liberty demands internal governance; self-rule through Right Reason. Man is rational, not because he can calculate, but because he can apprehend what is; reality as it is. Man is moral, not because he obeys rules, but because he participates in the discernment of the good, which is objective and knowable. Therefore, man must be educated not to blindly obey, but necessarily to govern himself; to choose the good because he sees (discerns not projects) it and loves (commits himself to) it. See the Education of the Founding Fathers (Walsh). A ‘dog or horse’ …….a pack animal……cannot do this. They are subjects to be controlled, domesticated, or broken whereas a citizen is not. Talk of man as a ‘pack animal’ negates the Constitutional Republic, negates self governance, unalienable rights and man as a human being. It is the talk of Rousseau’s “savages made to live in cities” and Hobbes’ sophist thought experiment ‘State of Nature’ - the propaganda of its own day and like today, serving State power. The American Constitutional Republic upholds and defends man as a human being in the created order, his created nature with endowed faculties, of right reason oriented under authority and grounded in Faith. This doesn’t serve the political warfare operations does it. There are reasons for that! “Let a man be neither a dog to be taught by beatings, nor a horse to be managed by a bridle.” (John Adams, Discourses on Davila, 1790)
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Around this time of year, my husband enjoys horror movies. I’ve never been a super fan, but he’s the best, so bring it on Jason/Freddy and assorted psychos! In that milieu is it any surprise I nearly dropped my phone when this jumped across the screen? Thanks @elonmusk! FFS 🤣
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Whelp. Colfax Bus Rapid Transit strikes again. Hope the dog is ok. 🥲
WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK @RTD?!?!?! Ride the Ride, Yall. Your Dog might get dragged by the bus driver for a few blocks as it helplessly hangs out the fucking door the driver closed on it! What is the religion of this Bus Driver?
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GenXJen retweeted
do you guys understand how bad an increased tax proposal has to be to literally have your DEMOCRAT GOVERNOR rallying against it
The non-partisan tax foundation found that high income taxes hurt growth. It’s critical that Colorado voters reject Amendment 87 which would make Colorado the 9th highest taxed state. It’s not to late to vote No on amendment 87
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Replying to @ForestMommy
If you were a journalist, you might investigate the $4.4 million dollars (or both groups). If you’re Colorado media though…
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GenXJen retweeted
COLORADO!!!!!!🥹🍁
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12 years ago I walked down these stairs and into my first AA meeting on my own steam—although my bosses were very supportive that this was how I’d spend the noon hour. I’m ever grateful to them. Today I walked down these steps to see my dear friend Bob who celebrates 40 years sober today. An unexpected gift was seeing so many old friends who made the same trip. There was also a young, beautiful woman with terrified, nervous, desperate eyes sitting next to her husband. She walked down the stairs for the first time today. He was there to support her. Sitting across from them was Bob, with his wife, and some of the good friends he’s made in his 20+ years in Denver. Like me those years ago, she heard a message of hope, laughter at stories most normal people wouldn’t get, a living demonstration of the power of one drunk helping another get well, and the lifelong friends we meet along the way. This downtown Denver meeting has been going for more than 50 years. Its fortunes up and down like Denver’s. When I was new, it was packed every day with 40 or 50 drunks drawn from downtown’s fanciest offices and dirtiest alleys. These days it’s smaller; a 40% office vacancy and zoom will do that. But the message is the same—a common problem and a common solution that works for us, no matter where we come from. I love the men and women I met there; they saved and changed my life by spending the noon hour in a basement Monday through Friday. If you can’t control how much you drink, or when you stop, you start again, we’ve found a way to get free. The hardest part is walking down the steps. Thank you Bob for being there when I was new and today for the woman who was so brave today. We do recover.
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Meanwhile normal people can't be trusted with plastic bags and natural gas
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GenXJen retweeted
Claims of “grassroots” revealed to be more of the same supranational NGO network described by @DataRepublican Colorado’s citizen-led ballot measures to protect girls sports and protect kids from s*x-change surgeries are being fought by an amorphous infrastructure of multimillionaire-funded foundations such as Open Societies, the Tides network, and Colorado’s Gill Foundation. These foundations filter money through organizations such as Planned Parenthood, the ACLU, and One Colorado to create a mirage of “grassroots” opposition to ballot measures supported by a broad spectrum of Colorado voters. The @TheRMVoice report below.
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If Amendment 87 passes, Colorado’s top income tax rate jumps from 4.4% to 8.4% making it the 9th highest in the country. Businesses will leave. Jobs will leave. Investment will leave. This is how you kill a state’s economy. Vote NO on Amend 87. (Tweet by DoBetterDNVR and not authorized by any candidate or committee)
The non-partisan tax foundation found that high income taxes hurt growth. It’s critical that Colorado voters reject Amendment 87 which would make Colorado the 9th highest taxed state. It’s not to late to vote No on amendment 87
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2023-2025 were Denver’s deadliest years for overdose (so far). Perhaps drug trafficking isn’t a wise line of business for one seeking to remain in the U.S. That the DA’s office engages in such unequal application of the law is no surprise. Denver is considering dropping the City’s General Penalty to 5 days to protect the immigration status of offenders.
While Denver residents keep overdosing and dying, DA John Walsh is weighing “collateral consequences”, specifically to protect non-citizens from removal. Same charges, different outcomes based on immigration status. American citizens don’t get that break. Exhibit A: Edith Waleska Barahona-Cruz (#24CR03412). Barahona-Cruz was arrested 6/11/24 and charged with: 💊 Drug Felony 1 (possession with intent of >50 grams of fentanyl, mandatory 8–32 years with no probation) 💊 Drug Felony 2 (possession with intent of meth/heroin/ketamine/cocaine) 💊 Drug Felony 3 (possession with intent to distribute Schedule I/II substances) 👶 Misdemeanor child abuse. All of the drug felonies were DISMISSED and Barahona-Cruz pled to criminal mischief and misdemeanor assault and got two years probation. This is the pattern in Denver courts. Illegal immigrant dealers charged with trafficking get pleas to unrelated offenses like criminal mischief because those carry fewer immigration consequences. A DF1 conviction for that amount of fentanyl with intent is both mandatory prison and an aggravated felony under immigration law, near-automatic deportation. Those charges vanished. DEA Rocky Mountain Special Agent in Charge David Olesky has said cartel members themselves call Colorado “un santuario.” They know a federal arrest means real consequences. A state arrest often does not, because immigration status is treated as a reason to go soft instead of a reason for removal. Soft deals that shield illegal immigrant dealers from prison and deportation only reinforce exactly what the cartels already believe about Denver. If the office had the evidence to charge fentanyl trafficking, the public deserves to know why the final conviction was an unrelated property offense. Protecting @denversmayor vibrant “newcomers” from deportation is being treated as the higher priority than keeping poison off Denver streets. Two-tiered justice for the people selling the drugs that are killing Coloradans. @ERODenver @WhiteHouse SOURCE: lawenforcementtoday.com/denv…
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The Addiction Industrial Complex isn’t solving the crisis—it’s monetizing it. This form of disaster capitalism has done permanent damage in California and Colorado. Follow the💰incentives: who profits when recovery never happens?
JUST IN: California rehab operators accused of supplying illegal drugs to recovering addicts to keep them hooked & collect over $210 million from insurers.
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Truly a 10/10 post.
Oh, for fuck’s sake. Is Crocodile Dundee in town? Some guy at Colfax and Broadway allegedly pulled a knife over nine inches long on another man. That’s not a knife. That’s a fucking machete with a criminal record. Sir, did you come here to threaten somebody or audition for Crocodile Dundee 4: The Methamphetamine Years? And apparently he was dragging a wagon with a speaker, because nothing says “I’m mentally prepared for a felony” like bringing your own soundtrack. At this point, I’m convinced Colfax is just Florida with altitude sickness. Every time I think Colfax has reached rock bottom, somebody shows up with excavation equipment.
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Unplanned water and heat outages, especially in an 8 year old building, are a sign of a building that is not maintained to ordinary standards. This is an ongoing issue at this Colorado Coalition for the Homeless property, based on reports from @ABEALLCURVE. If anyone has advice for TBC, please share it.
Replying to @dobetterdnvr
@dobetterdnvr @GenXJenDen @MeanTweets80238 @mrosazza My building has basically become uninhabitable(no heat and no water at all again) and I have no clue who to contact within the City or State any more to do anything about it, so I leave it in the public hands to please help.
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More info:
Replying to @dobetterdnvr
@dobetterdnvr @GenXJenDen @MeanTweets80238 @mrosazza Renaissance Downtown Lofts 2075 N Broadway. In the mean time, Im going to help some of neighbors evacuate the building, get water to drink, and then I need to go to friends to shower to get ready for work.
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GenXJen retweeted
Denver City Council is considering a proposal to ban what it terms “algorithmic price fixing in rental housing.” 🧵 At issue is the adoption by multifamily rental operators of management software that uses members info to create aggregated data on market conditions. The system reduces the lag in pricing as markets conditions change. As more property owners adopt the software, the market intelligence is closer to real time pricing, lease terms can adjust to changes in supply or demand more quickly. When Denver was supply constrained and high demand, prices went up in real time, faster for software users. In today’s market, as 4,000+ units came online and demand has slowed, prices are falling in real time. Lewis and Kashman paint the tech as the modern equivalent of a smoke filled room, with mustache twirling villains screwing the little guy so they can surf piles of gold. Missing from their naughty landlord scenario and ordinance is: ▫️the recognition that the software provides intelligence on supply and demand, including *lowering* prices as markets change. Their single point of data came at Denver’s peak. Re-run the analysis today and the results would find the software generating an impact that decreases rent; and ▫️A Nov. 2025 settlement with RealPage and DOJ addressed key concerns (e.g., leasing data in the algo/pricing recommendations now must be at least 12 months old and more). The proposed ordinance is economically illiterate slop and pretends the DOJ settlement doesn’t exist. The provision giving tenants the private right to sue is a nightmare and will further distort Denver’s rental market and add another reason to the growing list making Denver a bad investment for multifamily operators. Maybe that’s the point. At every turn, this Council seeks to make the private rental business more expensive and a risky investment. Members of the Budget and Policy should reject this ill-conceived bill on Monday. FYI: Polis vetoed a similar bill in 2025.
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Denver’s STAR program dispatches a behavioral health clinician and a paramedic to people on the street in crisis. We know their budget. We know their operating hours. But we don’t know the results. When Council gets briefed next Wednesday in the Safety Committee, perhaps a member will ask just what Denver gets for its investment. It’s a feel-good program on the surface, but does it work? How many people are helped and how precisely? How do we measure the program’s effectiveness? (People not going to jail is an insufficient answer—are their behaviors changed?) Do frequent flyers receive intervention? Denver Health gets a couple million. For what? Servicios de la Raza’s STAR budget is bigger than the response team. Just what do they do? What are the results?
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GenXJen retweeted
Ok this is funny!
No treats. Just tricks. Halloween scares are supposed to be fun. Ballot surprises? Not so much. Before you cast your vote this November, take a closer look at what's on the ballot. Watch our latest Proposition NN explainer: youtu.be/bQ03mz4TLeQ Paid for by Affordable Colorado, Katie Kennedy, Registered Agent #AffordableColorado
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