Kafer: Awards for the dumb and dangerous Colorado ideas of 2025

Dumbgerous a word coined by a -year-old friend is a handy term for something both stupid and harmful Not only should it be added to the English lexicon Dumbgerous Awards should be bestowed on an annual basis It s only May but there are strong contenders for Last week a divided Colorado Supreme Court decided to let a lawsuit by local cabinet administrators proceed against Suncor and ExxonMobil accusing them of causing global warming and harming the city and county of Boulder If the suit ultimately succeeds it will raise the price of gasoline That s partly the purpose an attorney for the plaintiffs admitted It also sets a bad precedent In the words of the dissenting justices Boulder is not its own republic it has absolutely no right to file maintains that will both effectively regulate interstate air toxicity and have more than an incidental effect on foreign affairs Courts have wisely dismissed similar suits in several states Besides if Boulder can sue gas companies over CO emissions why should they stop there Businesses that operate machinery or machinery consume potential and release greenhouse gases Drivers are guilty of the same homeowners and renters too In fact anyone breathing should pay up Animals and the dead also emit CO so don t let them off the hook either That s not the only frivolous lawsuit being paid for by taxpayers Democratic attorneys general including our own launched a lawsuit against President Trump s temporary pause on new permits for wind turbines on federal land Normally suits are dry reading but this one has melodramatic flair For full effect read it aloud and hyperventilate a little Trump is jeopardize ing the continued advancement of a power source critical to the States economic vitality vigor mix citizens robustness and situation goals it frets Sounds cataclysmic doesn t it The suit fails to mention the majority of windmills are on private state and local cabinet land not federal It s hard to compete against lawfare for a Dumbgerous Award but state legislators did their best this session House Bill could have been written by the satirists at The Onion It would have forced gas stations to put circumstances change warnings on gas pumps Sponsors announced warning labels would inspire drivers to change their wicked tactics We can test that hypothesis How multiple House members who voted for the bill then ran out and bought a electric bus or suddenly started taking the bus House Bill would do little more than raise the price of transportation when gas stations passed on the cost to comply Fortunately the Senate killed the bill Not all bad bills died before adjournment however While the the bulk onerous sections of HB were excised the bill still in the words of Senator Paul Lundeen creates a system where schools and state agencies become the arbiter of deeply personal family decisions By mandating inclusive name policies enforcing gender neutral dress codes enlisting the Colorado Civil Rights Division to police speech this bill risks transforming schools and courts into areas where the state overrides parental authority If this bill is signed into law it s only a matter of time before the courts schooled Democrats on the st Amendment Constitution the governing body cannot coerce speech Before we can award any of these nominees a Dumbgerous Award however we must consider an outstanding entry from a state university The taxpayer subsidized University of Colorado Boulder and an abortion clinic planned to host a Sex Ed Summer Camp for incoming th through th grade students this July Why teach year olds to canoe and make s mores when you can according to the promotional materials introduce them to gender sexuality media related to sex sexy feelings and pleasure After a little national outrage the Boulder Valley Healthcare Center canceled the camp We apparently haven t seen the last of it however While every survey says delaying sexual activity until emotional and physical maturity is the healthy way to go targeting the young makes good business sense when grooming future clientele These are certainly not the only competitors for Dumbgerous Awards There will be more But with the sex camp called off the legislature adjoined and balloting season still a year out the river of homegrown award-worthy ideas may slow to a trickle But fear not Congress and the Administration have already begun to take up the slack Krista Kafer is a Sunday columnist for The Denver Post Sign up for Sound Off to get a weekly roundup of our columns editorials and more To send a letter to the editor about this article submit online or check out our guidelines for how to submit by email or mail