Mandy Connell

SHORT BLOG BECAUSE ROCKIES EAT THE SHOW AT 12:30 And I'm off tomorrow and Monday so we're talking Independence Day and the Not-So Big Beautiful Bill today.OF COURSE THE BILL IS GOING TO PASS What did I say yesterday about the fake drama about the Big Beautiful Bill? I told you that there would be a good show of some of the members of the House who said this was a garbage bill and the Senate made it worse before they voted to move it along. And that is EXACTLY what happened. A seven hour procedural vote that cleared the deck for the bill to pass today, so everyone in the House can go home and talk about what a hard battle they fought but this is just how things work in Washington and gosh they wish it was different. So predictable. The bill should pass this morning. I have mixed feelings about this. I'm glad the tax cuts are permanent because if taxes had jumped right now it would crush people who are already being crushed by inflation's impact. But this bill just moves us closer to insolvency. I hope beyond all hope I'm wrong. Please let me be wrong.WHAT'S WRONG WITH THE BILL? Well I've gathered up some stuff from people who think this bill is horrible and why. Here the Committee for a Responsible Federal Government shows how this bill is the biggest budget buster of ALL TIME. This column points out that the bill does nothing to deal with the crisis looming for Social Security and Medicare and even speeds up Social Security's demise. This column talks about the death of regular order, which will absolutely come back to bite the GOP again the next time the Democrats have a slim majority and big ideas, although that column does the best job of giving ALL the pros and cons and is worth a full read. This part on why they are using a reconciliation process instead of doing it the way it should be done is really good:The bill's secret weapon is something called budget reconciliation—a special process that allows legislation affecting federal spending, revenues, or debt to pass the Senate with just 51 votes instead of the usual 60. This procedural advantage was established by the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 to streamline budget decisions. But it's become the preferred method for passing major partisan legislation when one party controls Congress by narrow margins. Reconciliation was originally designed to ensure that Congress could implement budget resolutions by reconciling actual spending and revenue legislation with overall fiscal targets. The idea was to prevent individual appropriations or tax bills from undermining broader budget agreements. Over time, creative lawmakers discovered they could use reconciliation for much more ambitious purposes. Any provision that affects federal spending, revenues, or debt levels can potentially qualify for the expedited process. The current bill qualifies because virtually every provision either raises or lowers taxes, increases or decreases spending, or affects government debt levels. Tax cuts reduce revenues. Healthcare changes affect Medicaid spending. Even seemingly unrelated provisions can be crafted to meet reconciliation requirements. Reconciliation comes with strict limits enforced by the Senate Parliamentarian under rules known as the “Byrd Rule,” named after former Senator Robert Byrd. Provisions must have more than incidental budgetary effects, can't increase deficits beyond the budget window, and must relate primarily to budgetary rather than policy matters. These constraints force bill drafters to be creative about how they structure policies to qualify for fast-track treatment. Sometimes this leads to awkward compromises or sunset clauses that make policies temporary when sponsors want them to be permanent. The time limits built into reconciliation—typically 20 hours of Senate debate—compress normal legislative processes that might otherwise take months into just a few days of intense activity. This speed prevents the kind of detailed examination that complex legislation normally requires.

GET YOUR WEATHER QUESTIONS READY As we have Fox 31's Chief Meteorologist Dave Fraser at 12:30 to answer all of your weather questions.LET'S TALK ABOUT THE MORTGAGE MARKET And we're talking about this because so much of the economy is attached to people buying new homes I want to find out what the short term picture is like. I've got American Financing's Casey Schwartzkoff on to discuss it at 2:30. If you need mortgage help call 303-695-7000 or click here. I SAW A GREAT SHOW SUNDAY NIGHT And it's part of a place called The Roaming Gnome Theater where someone took a garage and retrofitted into a cute little theater for various groups to use. And this weekend, the second cast (there are two) performs the delightful musical SIX about Henry VIII's six wives with a cast made up of high school and college age women. It's not Broadway, but they did an AMAZING job and I asked the young woman who directed the show to visit today at 1 to talk about it, so Brooklyn Stevens pops on then. Buy tickets to this weekend's performance and support this shoestring group by clicking here. Find out more about Brooklyn's group The Student Theater Passion Project by clicking here.

Dad joke of the day, word of the day, Mandy's trivia question of the day & jeopardy! It's OF THE DAY! Today's opponent: Ryan Edwards.

LET'S TALK ABOUT THE MORTGAGE MARKET And we're talking about this because so much of the economy is attached to people buying new homes I want to find out what the short term picture is like. I've got American Financing's Casey Schwartzkoff on to discuss it at 2:30. If you need mortgage help call 303-695-7000 or click here.

I SAW A GREAT SHOW SUNDAY NIGHT And it's part of a place called The Roaming Gnome Theater where someone took a garage and retrofitted into a cute little theater for various groups to use. And this weekend, the second cast (there are two) performs the delightful musical SIX about Henry VIII's six wives with a cast made up of high school and college age women. It's not Broadway, but they did an AMAZING job and I asked the young woman who directed the show to visit today at 1 to talk about it, so Brooklyn Stevens pops on then. Buy tickets to this weekend's performance and support this shoestring group by clicking here. Find out more about Brooklyn's group The Student Theater Passion Project by clicking here.

GET YOUR WEATHER QUESTIONS READY As we have Fox 31's Chief Meteorologist Dave Fraser at 12:30 to answer all of your weather questions.

WILL THE BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL PASS? No one seems to know as of this morning, but that may change by the time I start the show. Have they gutted the cost saving measures enough for Lisa Murkowski? Who knows. You can read more here but I'm sure there will be updates soon.HOW ABOUT A LITTLE VETERAN ART? Jefferson County Public Library has partnered with the Veterans of Foreign Wars to showcase artwork by their members and photography from the Denver Vet Center. Throughout the month of July, several JCPL locations will host the work of different local artists. There will be a one-hour reception at each location for the artists showing there, providing the public with an opportunity to listen to their stories and discover how artistic expression helps triumph over adversity. I'm talking with Sean Eads, JeffCo Public Library Programming Coordinator, today at 2:30 about it. Find out more here.

Dad joke of the day, word of the day, Mandy's trivia question of the day & jeopardy! It's OF THE DAY! Today's opponent: Ryan Edwards.

HOW ABOUT A LITTLE VETERAN ART? Jefferson County Public Library has partnered with the Veterans of Foreign Wars to showcase artwork by their members and photography from the Denver Vet Center. Throughout the month of July, several JCPL locations will host the work of different local artists. There will be a one-hour reception at each location for the artists showing there, providing the public with an opportunity to listen to their stories and discover how artistic expression helps triumph over adversity. I'm talking with Sean Eads, JeffCo Public Library Programming Coordinator, today at 2:30 about it. Find out more here.

WILLIAM SHATNER IS AT 12:10 And we normally don't do guests that early BUT IT'S WILLIAM SHATNER. Jimmy Sengenberger set up the interview so he's gonna come in and chat too. Don't miss this one.THE NYC DEM CANDIDATE FOR MAYOR IS A COMPLETE IDIOT I didn't talk much about Zohran Mamdani, the Democrat candidate (and presumed general election winner) for NYC Mayor. But holy cow this guy is a clown.THERE IS A KILL DONALD TRUMP FATWA And I'm sure some progressives are cheering this but it's nothing to be casual about, just ask Salman Rushdie. The Ayatollah, who is hella mad his nuclear toys got busted up, issued the fatwa this past weekend. Read more here. For a religion of peace Islamists sure like to kill people.

Dad joke of the day, word of the day, Mandy's trivia question of the day & jeopardy! It's OF THE DAY! Today's opponent: Ryan Edwards.

WILLIAM SHATNER IS AT 12:10 And we normally don't do guests that early BUT IT'S WILLIAM SHATNER. Jimmy Sengenberger set up the interview so he's gonna come in and chat too. Don't miss this one.

IT'S AN ASK ME ANYTHING KIND OF DAY So get your idiotic question ready!CHRISTIAN TOTO ON TO TALK HOLLYWOOD As he does at his website and podcast called Hollywood In Toto (find them here). Christian has been writing a lot lately about what it's like to "come out" as a Trump voter or conservative in Hollywood and it's not pretty. It actually makes me like the folks who have done so even more, because it's a real act of bravery. Read a story from Newsbusters here, and from early January about stars who support Israel. He joins me to talk about this and summer movies at 1.COTTAGE CHEESE! Do you like it?

Dad joke of the day, word of the day, Mandy's trivia question of the day & jeopardy! It's OF THE DAY! Today's opponent: Benjamin Allbright.

CHRISTIAN TOTO ON TO TALK HOLLYWOOD As he does at his website and podcast called Hollywood In Toto (find them here). Christian has been writing a lot lately about what it's like to "come out" as a Trump voter or conservative in Hollywood and it's not pretty. It actually makes me like the folks who have done so even more, because it's a real act of bravery. Read a story from Newsbusters here, and from early January about stars who support Israel. He joins me to talk about this and summer movies at 1.

I AGREE WITH KYLE CLARK And I think this is like three times this year alone so maybe I need to get checked out. JK, he's just been right three times this year, that's all. This time he's right about the dumb pedestrian bridge over Lincoln that Governor Polis has decided he must have. Watch Kyle take it apart here.DICK MONFORT PUTS HIS KID IN CHARGE Of the Rockies. I'm sure this will help their current .225 winning percentage. No chance of that, because he won't take over until 2026. Read more here if you want.

DOUGCO SAYS NO THANK YOU And hooboy it was a butt kicking.WEATHER WEDNESDAY IS BACK! Because I'm back! Fox 31s Dave Fraser joins us at 12:30 to let us know what's coming up this week and take your questions.WAR HISTORIAN PAUL RAHE ON TODAY To talk about how Israel being at war with Iran is the natural conclusion to the attacks of October 7th, and why it is in our best interest that Israel win. He joins me at 1pm to discuss. Find out more about Paul at https://www.hillsdale.edu/faculty/paul-rahe/ or http://www.paularahe.com/IS SOCIAL SECURITY BROKE? I saw this story recently and had to sort of roll my eyes, even though this directly affects my ability to retire. Social Security will have to cut benefits in 2033 because they are running out of money. I've got Mike Murphy with the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget at 2:30 and we will talk about what needs to happen to prevent this from happening. Learn more about the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget here.

Dad joke of the day, word of the day, Mandy's trivia question of the day & jeopardy! It's OF THE DAY! Today's opponent: Benjamin Allbright.

IS SOCIAL SECURITY BROKE? I saw this story recently and had to sort of roll my eyes, even though this directly affects my ability to retire. Social Security will have to cut benefits in 2033 because they are running out of money. I've got Mike Murphy with the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget at 2:30 and we will talk about what needs to happen to prevent this from happening. Learn more about the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget here.

WAR HISTORIAN PAUL RAHE ON TODAY To talk about how Israel being at war with Iran is the natural conclusion to the attacks of October 7th, and why it is in our best interest that Israel win. He joins me at 1pm to discuss. Find out more about Paul at https://www.hillsdale.edu/faculty/paul-rahe/ or http://www.paularahe.com/

WEATHER WEDNESDAY IS BACK! Because I'm back! Fox 31s Dave Fraser joins us at 12:30 to let us know what's coming up this week and take your questions.

EMPATHY HAS BEEN WEAPONIZED And there is a fantastic book about it called The Sin of Empathy: Compassion and Its Counterfeits by a fellow named Joe Rigney. Dr. Joe Rigney serves as Fellow of Theology at New Saint Andrews College and a pastor at Christ Church in Moscow, Idaho. He is the author of eight books, including Leadership and Emotional Sabotage (Canon Press, 2024) as well as The Sin of Empathy. To say his take on how our natural sympathy has been weaponized against us isn't being taken well is an understatement, as you can read in this column, but after reading the book I agree with him 100%. We need compassion, not empathy. One helps, the other enables. It's a great book and you should buy it here. It's about compassion, not empathy. He joins me at 1.LET'S TALK PRIDE FOR A HOT MINUTE One of my favorite gays Rich Guggenheim joins me today to talk about PRIDE month and why his amicus brief was cited in the Skirmetti decision. That's at 2:30.A CEASE FIRE THAT WASN'T So last night I saw a post from President Trump where he announced a ceasefire between Israel and Iran.

Dad joke of the day, word of the day, Mandy's trivia question of the day & jeopardy! It's OF THE DAY! Today's opponent: Rich Guggenheim.

LET'S TALK PRIDE FOR A HOT MINUTE One of my favorite gays Rich Guggenheim joins me today to talk about PRIDE month and why his amicus brief was cited in the Skirmetti decision. That's at 2:30.

EMPATHY HAS BEEN WEAPONIZED And there is a fantastic book about it called The Sin of Empathy: Compassion and Its Counterfeits by a fellow named Joe Rigney. Dr. Joe Rigney serves as Fellow of Theology at New Saint Andrews College and a pastor at Christ Church in Moscow, Idaho. He is the author of eight books, including Leadership and Emotional Sabotage (Canon Press, 2024) as well as The Sin of Empathy. To say his take on how our natural sympathy has been weaponized against us isn't being taken well is an understatement, as you can read in this column, but after reading the book I agree with him 100%. We need compassion, not empathy. One helps, the other enables. It's a great book and you should buy it here. It's about compassion, not empathy. He joins me at 1.

HOLY SMOKES YOU GUYS I won't have much time to blather on about the amazing trip we took to South Korea and Japan (but I'm sure I'll get in plenty of blathering) because you may have heard that the US did a sneak attack against the Iranian regime that may or may not have ended their nuclear program for the time being. President Trump gave some brief comments about it the other night and you can watch them here.I love that there is an active effort to bring civility back to our lives and political discussions. Today at 2:30 I've got Lori Leander from Reclaiming Civility and Sandra Brownrigg from Braver Angels Southern Front Range Alliance on to talk about what their organization is trying to do to elevate the dialogue in our communities again. They've got an event coming up called "Civility on the International Space Station with Astronaut Jim Dutton" and you can go. To find out more and reserve your seat, click here. Find out more about Braver Angels by clicking here!

Dad joke of the day, word of the day, Mandy's trivia question of the day & jeopardy! It's OF THE DAY! Today's opponent: Benjamin Allbright.

SPEAKING OF CIVILITY I love that there is an active effort to bring civility back to our lives and political discussions. Today at 2:30 I've got Lori Leander from Reclaiming Civility and Sandra Brownrigg from Braver Angels Southern Front Range Alliance on to talk about what their organization is trying to do to elevate the dialogue in our communities again. They've got an event coming up called "Civility on the International Space Station with Astronaut Jim Dutton" and you can go. To find out more and reserve your seat, click here. Find out more about Braver Angels by clicking here!

https://www.parentsdemandjustice.org/

Mandy took some time out of her Mandy Connell Adventure overseas in South Korea & Japan to check in with Ross!