The Colorado State Open Thread is dedicated to those with an interest in Colorado and everything to do with our state. On this Memorial Day, I wish to honor and memorialize those who made the ultimate sacrifice to protect this country and the freedoms we hold dear. Yes, I do realize some people interpret the meanings of those freedoms differently than you or I do, but those very freedoms protect those people’s right to be wrong, so long as they don’t seek to impose their misguided beliefs onto others. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you, and that includes DBAD.
Yesterday, my excuse for a Sunday organization which is made up of “Quakers, Unitarians and Others” met to hear the story of a man (from Irish stock) who had decided prior to the Pandemic that he would dedicate his life — he thought it would just be a few months of his future, but it has turned out much more — towards pursuing a formal apology from the United States government in the person of the President that would be short, simple, and unprecedented in that this apology would be from the United States to the indigenous peoples of what is the United States of America for the policies and treatment by the United States government that sought to take land, life and culture from the Native Americans by hook or by crook through the whole history of this nation.
His website is www.petitionforapology.com and you can go there and read some of the goals of his project, but you won’t read about the struggles he has had to get even to this point. His original goal was to walk to Washington, but he was thwarted just four days in by his knees not being up to the challenge. He had to put off his journey and he decided to do it by bike, since that was an activity he could do for 60-100 miles per day. And then came the Covid lockdown. Then he tried again, by bicycle but only got to eastern Nebraska by the time that he caught Covid. That took him months to get back to the point where he could breathe as he pedaled his bike. I’m missing a detail, but somehow he had a pair of pins in his ankle and those were infected with a Staph virus, More months of medicine and rehab. He is now planning on starting off again in September.
Another thing you won’t read on his website is his attitude for why he’s doing this the way he is. He knows plenty of Native Americans from his work with them through his culinary and charitable efforts, but he has not asked them to get involved with this because he feels that this is better being done by him as an individual. He is also not involving politicians because he wants to keep this from becoming part of the right/left conflict in the nation — he wants this to be from an individual and not from a political party. He started his mission while Trump was POTUS and he’s continuing while Biden is POTUS — his goal is an apology from the President on behalf of the United States, not a Democratic or Republican President on behalf of half of the country. He also didn’t ask for any donations to help fund the trip. He is also most specifically not asking for reparations or anything beyond the simple apology. He plans to get to Washington DC and see what happens as he tries to get an audience with someone who can get this proposal petition in front of the President, though he’s also open to Deb Haaland, not because she’s a Native American, but because she’s the Secretary of the Interior, responsible and influential in the dealings with the Native American tribes and issues past, present and future. His website also details how he sees this as different from the apology that President Barack Obama signed as part of a defense bill.
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The Possible Explanation concerns, yes, Congresswoman Lauren Boebert. I published a somewhat tongue-in-cheek diary when news that she was getting divorced first broke. As expected, more news has since come out that may shed light on her decision to divorce her husband Jayson.
From Colorado Public Radio:
One of Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert’s teenage sons called 911 late last year, saying his father, Jayson Boebert, was “throwing” him around the house.
In the 911 tape from Dec. 11, 2022, at 6:46 p.m., the audibly upset boy told the dispatcher he didn’t know why his father got mad. “He just started yelling at me and he started throwing me (around the house),” before adding that his dad told him to leave and yelled at him to get away.
The teen added, “He does this to me so much.”
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The story changed in a follow-up call to 911 about 10 minutes later at 6:55 p.m. The boy told the dispatcher his father, “Didn’t really get physical with me” and that he was “overwhelmed” when he’d called the first time. In the background at the start of the call, the congresswoman could be heard yelling to someone, “Get over here. Where are you?”
KRDO, Channel 13 from Pueblo has the audio from the 911 calls. I will warn you, the boy is traumatized, especially in the first call, so please be warned before you listen to it. The audio starts immediately without any opportunity to pause or delay the playing of it.
If this were my family, I would have no issue with Mrs. Boebert taking action including divorce and involving police or possibly even employing other means to protect the son from physical harm. I feel very sorry for all in that family, as they seem to be ill-suited for family life. Some, more than others.
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The last thing I’d like to express is my gratitude towards my six uncles who participated in the US armed forces, with one losing his life to illness he contracted in the south Pacific. I invite you to share any stories or memories about anyone you wish to honor on this Memorial Day, whether they served in the Armed Forces or not. The floor is yours...