As abruptly as Amazon announced in September that it was hunting for a place to build a second full-sized headquarters, the Seattle conglomerate on Thursday announced 20 cities that made it to the next level, including Denver. The city was one of 238 proposals submitted to Amazon, which said it would invest $5 billion to build a second campus in North America. It needed a future site that could house around 50,000 employees in about 8 million square feet — the size of Amazon’s headquarters in Seattle. “We are absolutely excited to have made the shortlist. The work continues,” said Sam Bailey, who oversaw the Metro Denver Economic Development Corp.’s effort. Bailey said that Amazon’s economic development team notified his staff early Thursday morning. “The email was four sentences, thanking us for the submission, discussing the next steps and a focus on learning about the community, the talent and potential real estate,” Bailey said. He expects to begin discussions with Amazon no later than next week. At this point, whether the process becomes confidential will be up to Amazon. The state kept its HQ2 bid confidential, but after enormous public interest and a Colorado Open Records Act request by The Denver Post and Denver7, the state released a redacted version of its bid , which kept financial figures and locations confidential. “I think our approach really focused on what was most valuable, and that was telling the Colorado story. We didn’t include other states or diminish their proposals, because we didn’t want to waste time,” Bailey said. “We feel confident that the pillars, the places, the talent, the local and global access and the way business is supported in Colorado really told the right story.” In September, Colorado quickly hunkered down to come up with its bid by working with Metro Denver. The state put together one bid , offering up at least eight sites in the Denver area that met Amazon’s criteria. The state also offered ...
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Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson vs. Donald Trump: A serious comparison
During a recent interview to promote his new NBC sitcom “ Young Rock ,” actor Dwayne Johnson once again hinted at a potential run for president of the United States. “I would consider a presidential run in the future if that’s what the people wanted,” he said . “Truly, I mean that — and I’m not flippant in any way with my answer. That would be up to the people. ... I would wait, and I would listen. I would have my finger on the pulse, my ear to the ground.” At least twice before — once on Ellen DeGeneres's talk show and once in an interview with Vanity Fair — Johnson spoke of “seriously considering” the idea, saying he “wouldn’t rule it out.” After his latest comments on the subject, I ran the idea past several Democratic and Republican friends. All thought his candidacy would be a non-starter. Their basic reasoning is that it is virtually impossible for a nonpolitician or civilian to secure a nomination, let alone win the presidency — especially without the backing of one of the two major political parties. Generally, that’s correct. But I disagree with them when it comes to Johnson’s prospects of winning the presidency. ADVERTISEMENT In many relevant ways, he already is in a class by himself. First, he has that invaluable “it" factor, which is virtually unattainable for most powerful leaders in the country. Second, almost every American can see some part of themselves in Johnson. Not only is he an accomplished person of color — his films alone have grossed almost $11 billion worldwide — but he rose to prominence on his own. He overcame a sometimes troubled childhood, involving multiple moves and schools, but he never gave up on his dreams. And, as Johnson himself has pointed out, things are different today, politically. During his interview with Vanity Fair after Donald Trump Donald Trump Biden to hold virtual bilateral meeting with Mexican president More than 300 charged in connection to Capitol riot Trump Jr.: There are ...
Republicans see Becerra as next target in confirmation wars
Senate Republicans are setting their sights on California Attorney General Xavier Becerra Xavier Becerra The Hill's 12:30 Report - Presented by Facebook - Biden vs. Trump, part II The Hill's Morning Report - Presented by The AIDS Institute - Senate ref axes minimum wage, House votes today on relief bill Republicans see Becerra as next target in confirmation wars MORE , President Biden Joe Biden House Democrats pass sweeping .9T COVID-19 relief bill with minimum wage hike Biden to hold virtual bilateral meeting with Mexican president More than 300 charged in connection to Capitol riot MORE ’s choice to head the Department of Health and Human Services, as their next target in the battle over Biden’s Cabinet. Republicans, on the cusp of quashing Neera Tanden Neera Tanden On The Money: Democrats scramble to save minimum wage hike | Personal incomes rise, inflation stays low after stimulus burst Media circles wagons for conspiracy theorist Neera Tanden The Hill's 12:30 Report - Presented by Facebook - Biden vs. Trump, part II MORE ’s nomination to head the White House budget office, are looking for their next scalp and see Becerra as a tough vote for Democrats. They argue that Becerra, a Democrat who served for 24 years in the House before becoming California’s attorney general in 2017, lacks the medical or administrative background needed to lead the nation’s health agencies in the midst of a pandemic. ADVERTISEMENT “I would’ve been willing to vote for somebody, absolutely, but you’ve got to at least know something about the subject matter,” said Sen. Bill Cassidy Bill Cassidy Republicans see Becerra as next target in confirmation wars Overnight Health Care: Johnson & Johnson vaccine safe, effective in FDA analysis | 3-4 million doses coming next week | White House to send out 25 million masks Koch-backed group launches ads urging lawmakers to reject COVID-19 relief bill ...
Trumpists’ assaults on Republicans who refuse to drink the Kool-Aid will help Democrats
Donald Trump Donald Trump Biden to hold virtual bilateral meeting with Mexican president More than 300 charged in connection to Capitol riot Trump Jr.: There are 'plenty' of GOP incumbents who should be challenged MORE ’s effort to cancel Joe Biden’s victory reminds us that there are two essential components of genuine democracy: free and fair elections, followed by acceptance of the results, even over the objection of powerful losers. I argued previously that the utter failure of Trump’s initially desperate, ultimately demonic effort to stave off his electoral repudiation demonstrated the strength of America's commitment to the second step of the process. My subject today is what 2020 says about the first. My assessment here is more tentative, given that the electoral defeat of the xenophobic populists was less decisive than the rout of their attempted post-election coup. But I am optimistic because most of the factors that will decide which side wins the next round of the struggle between inclusive, mutually tolerant governance respectful of pluralism, on the one hand, and angry, intolerant majoritarian absolutism, on the other, will strongly favor the former. ADVERTISEMENT There is one important negative: The hope that the Republican Party would reject Trumpist rejectionism to take up the role of a responsible conservative opposition was wishful thinking. When the majority of Republicans only broke with Trump when they could do so in secret, it confirmed that those defined as "Republicans In Name Only," or RINOs, are heavily outnumbered within their party by "Hypocritical, Invertebrate, Pandering Politicos," or "HIPPOs" (confirming what I have learned from the TV shows my husband watches, that hippos are more dangerous than rhinos.) But even this has an upside. The judgment of the majority of Republican officeholders that surviving their primaries requires allegiance to Trump's presidency-in-exile means that while the ...
