Denver finally might become the type of sanctuary city we can support: a sanctuary city for aliens. The real kind.
Denver voters are deciding this fall whether to require the city to set up an Extraterrestrial Affairs Commission to “ensure the health, safety and cultural awareness of Denver residents” if and when we come into contact “with extraterrestrial intelligent beings or their vehicles.”
Remember, city voters once approved impounding the vehicles of illegal immigrants; we might as well prepare to impound the UFOs of these illegal aliens, too.
In a Wall Street Journal story on Friday, proponent Jeff Peckman pitched Initiative 300 as a jobs measure, saying he “envisions sci-fi film directors flocking here, space-travel researchers, and engineers hoping to pry the secrets of intergalactic technology from space visitors.” Kelly Brough, president of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, took it all in stride, telling the Journal: “We are open for business to all other planets.”
Still, should E.T. phone here, we say: Hang up.
Another day, another gem. Tom Tancredo really knows how to stir ’em up, as we noted in an editorial Thursday outlining years’ worth of his bombastic statements. Then, that very day, he said: “(Democrat John Hickenlooper’s) mentor, the guy who talked him into running, a guy by the name of Barack Obama, remember what he said about those folks. ‘When the going gets tough, when economic times get tough, these bitter white people cling to their guns and Bibles.’ ” Except Obama never said “white people,” nor did he say “Bibles.” But who cares, right? “I probably should have checked it out,” Tancredo said, laughing. “I was being corrected all over the place. I said, ‘OK, I’ll just take the most inflammatory one I can think of and accept that it’s true.’ “
Oh, yes. That is hilarious, congressman. Once again, Tancredo has shown he’s not fit to be Colorado’s governor. Talk radio host? Definitely.
It’s almost over, folks. We criticized Treasurer Cary Kennedy earlier this week for raising what we considered to be unfair suspicions about opponent Walker Stapleton’s DUI 11 years ago. However, we also should have dinged Stapleton for his ads, in which he says Kennedy has never held a job outside of government. That’s just not true.
Short Takes is compiled by Denver Post editorial writers and expresses the view of the newspaper’s editorial board.
