Many will recall the documentary about the problems in Seattle, Seattle is Dying- A KOMO News documentary

A similar documentary was just released about the city of Denver Colorado, but it goes a little farther into the problems as well as the history of governance in Denver and in Colorado.

Denver may not be as bad as Seattle or San Francisco or other cities (at this point), but it is well on its way and this controversial 50 minute documentary does a good job of illustrating the widespread problems.

While these problems are far more glaringly obvious in Denver, it's clear that these problems are cropping up in other Colorado cities such as Fort Collins, Colorado Springs, and Pueblo, and even smaller more rural communities as well.

A few points of interest/ info in the documentary:

19:53 mark- Note the homeless camps in front of the Governor's Mansion, however, Governor Polis chose not to take up residence here and instead lives in his personally owned mansion in Boulder.

20:58 mark- The Governor claims not to follow Denver politics, and doesn't seem to know whether Denver citizens voted for a ban on "camping" within city/ county limits, however Denver Mayor Michael Hancock had earlier, repeatedly, mentioned in press conferences how closely he and the Governor have worked on other issues such as COVID-19. It seems their good communication and coordination seems to have mysteriously vanished when it comes to the issues of whose responsibility the homeless camps or violence and destruction of public and private property are.

21:55 mark- features comments from the executive director of an alcohol/ drug recovery program called Step Denver (formally known as Step 13). Step Denver is a private recovery program that serves men only who are homeless due to their addictions. Unlike many other programs, Step Denver does not accept any public or government funding, which allows them to conduct their recovery program differently, and their program is based on holding those accepted to tightly monitored standards of accountability and responsibility, and participation in their own recoveries. The program itself is "free" to those accepted, however the men are expected to hold full time tax paying jobs, and are charged a small fee to cover their living expenses and food. The men in the program are required to help with basic household chores, making their beds, cleaning, and cooking the food provided for them. While they live in the facility their schedules are tightly controlled, and they are expected to participate in various frequent counselling sessions for their addiction, nutritional health, mental health, physical health, and developing career skills. As the men progress through the program they are incrementally (stepped) through the various phases, and earn more autonomy and freedom in their living spaces and schedules.

Some of the addicts who successfully complete the program are hired on to act as counselors, with others moving on to other jobs/ careers and successes, and Step Denver has been recognized for having significantly less recidivism when compared to other publicly funded recovery programs. They are working to export this successful recovery model to other cities/ states, hence the recent name change.

Step Denver- Virtual tour of facility and program

34:00 mark- Note the homeless camps just a couple blocks away from the beautiful Coors Field where the Colorado Rockies play baseball.

34:36 mark- The annual Back the Blue rally (with required permits) was held to show support for law enforcement, with police present in riot gear. However, within minutes of the event beginning, Antifa/ BLM moved in and clashed with the supporters of the police, violence broke out, and there were many injuries, including a woman who was shoved down some stairs, and national Conservative commentator Michelle Malkin, who helped organize the rally, reported being struck in the back of the head by a blunt object. The police stood by and watched the violence. There was a lot of finger pointing going on as to whether it was the on-scene Incident Commander or someone higher up who made the call, however it is obvious that they were ordered to stand down and not make many arrests.

The final credits note those government leaders that refused to participate in the documentary and, among the numerous state and city Democrat leaders who refused to be interviewed, note that Denver city councilwoman Candi CdeBaca is listed. CdeBaca is a member of the Democratic Socialist party, and although many of her beliefs are shared by the Communist ideology, she self-describes herself as an anarchist. She has actively supported and participated in the protests/ riots, has encouraged rioters to sue the police, and, while the city of Denver goes through an unprecedented loss of revenue during the COVID-19 lock down and all the city council reps. were instructed to participate in furlough days for their respective staff and offices, CdeBaca refused to participate in the spending reduction efforts.





Link to original video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?...2Fs&feature=youtu.be


An article with some additional info on the documentary.

[note: a picture of the riots and various hyperlinks can be found to the documentary trailer and other article comments]

Denver in Decay: Steffan Tubbs on Controversial New Documentary

MICHAEL ROBERTS | SEPTEMBER 17, 2020 | 9:34AM

Denver in Decay, a controversial new documentary by Steffan Tubbs, will make its debut at 7 p.m. tonight, September 17, on the website of radio station 710 KNUS before migrating to YouTube. And Tubbs, the afternoon-drive host at the outlet, is girding himself for backlash over his withering criticism of state and local officials in regard to their handling of the Mile High City's homelessness crisis and downtown protests that followed the death of George Floyd at the hands of police in Minneapolis.

"There are going to be a lot of people who are very angry and upset about this film coming out," Tubbs predicts of the launch, which falls on Constitution Day. "But instead of being angry at me, maybe they should look at themselves in the mirror."

In addition to being a longtime Denver radio personality (he was a staple at KOA before being fired over a domestic-violence beef for which charges were later dropped), Tubbs has made a series of films under the imprimatur of his Mountain Time Media company. Most of his previous efforts have spotlighted veterans and military matters, with the exception of Droughtland, about the struggles of farmers and ranchers in southeastern Colorado. But, he says, "What we've seen over the past three or four months screamed at me to do a film — the violence and the seeming lack of any voice or response from elected officials, Democrats or Republicans, to what was happening."

The tipping point "was the second night of back-to-back-to-back-to-back riots in Denver," he continues. "If you weren't there, it would be easy for you to say 'This is just a little part of downtown' — but it's a lot more than that. So I thought it was a good time to look at the homelessness problem and some of the violence we've seen during the COVID times."

As Tubbs acknowledges, "A lot of people will feel this is completely politically driven. But from day one of doing this project, we have tried to make it as down the middle and bipartisan as we could make it — although, not surprisingly, many, many, many people, most of them Democrats, wanted nothing to do with it." Among those who declined interviews were Mayor Michael Hancock, who recently criticized the film in advance during an appearance on KHOW, and Governor Jared Polis. Nonetheless, Polis turns up in the doc anyhow, answering a question from Tubbs during a press conference to address the spread of COVID-19.

Here's the trailer from the film, including a look at the Polis segment and appearances by former mayoral candidates Jamie Giellis and Penfield Tate:

Tubbs stresses that the film doesn't demonize the homeless, citing a sequence in which an unhoused woman answers a question while a single tear rolls down her face. But he admits that he doesn't emphasize the fact that the vast majority of participants in Black Lives Matter and police use-of-force demonstrations were non-violent, and that only a handful of individuals took part in fire-starting, window-breaking and other destructive activities.

"I would say the film is focused on the problems — and those would be the homeless problem and the violence problem, both of which were tolerated," he says. "The approach is that I think most people know there were peaceful protests going on. The Denver news media did a terrific job of going, 'Look: Everything's peaceful! There are no problems here!' But there were a lot of problems."

One program singled out for condemnation is Denver's Road Home, then-Mayor John Hickenlooper's 2005 plan to end homelessness in the city within a decade — "which was five years ago," Tubbs says. "Now, that may have been an unrealistic goal, but the facts speak for themselves. It's not our fault that the facts are what they are. Denver's Road Home was a disaster, and the lack of attention to the violence and destruction and graffiti is a fact, too. I blame both sides: the governor, the mayor and Republican leaders, too. People just kind of sat back and looked at this issue and what happened over the summer and went, 'Well, that sure is unfortunate.' But that's not a good enough answer for me, and that's why we tackled it."

The film takes the unusual tack of calling out those who refused to go on camera: Tubbs names Denver City Council members Candi CdeBaca, Chris Hinds and Robin Kneich; U.S. Representatives Diana DeGette and Ed Perlmutter; Colorado Coalition for the Homeless president and CEO John Parvensky; and Denver School Board member and protest leader Tay Anderson, among others. The mentions "are in the credits, and during the film, too," he explains. "We play a sound bite from Mayor Hancock, then fade to black, where it says, 'We reached out multiple times to Denver Mayor Hancock...'"

More positive references are made to those who donated money to finance Denver in Decay. "We used crowd-sourced funding," Tubbs reveals. "We got so much interest from people contributing $5 or $10 or $25, and people who gave $100 or more have their name in the credits. A lot of people likened it to signing a petition — making it known to anyone who watches that they feel the things we talk about in the film are serious and not necessarily lost causes, but that we do need to take on these two major problems."

According to Tubbs, "The goal for the film is to make sure that people understand not only what's gone on during COVID times in Denver and what I've been calling the Summer of Hell 2020, but that they look back and realize these problems started a long time ago. We want to shine a light on the problems and make sure everyone's on the same page. That way, maybe we can start with a clean slate — say, 'Past policies, ideas, wishes, none of that has gotten us very far.' And if tolerating violence is the new norm, they need to know what they're in for in the city and county of Denver and throughout the state."

I remember when their biggest problem was the smell of Purina pet food plan.

Denver
Baltimore
Detroit
Seattle
Portland
San Fran
Los Angeles
Chicago
NYC
Austin
And on and on and on... All run by rats.

quote:

Originally posted by 12131:
Denver
Baltimore
Detroit
Seattle
Portland
San Fran
Los Angeles
Chicago
NYC
Austin
And on and on and on... All run by rats.

The point of commonality, the point of failure is so glaringly obvious...and yet there are so many that can't seem to make the connection.

That's a true shame. I lived in the Denver area - first Lakewood, then Highlands Ranch - for about 25 years. When I first got there in 1988 from the eastern seaboard (DC/PA), I was amazed that there were pickup trucks that not only had gun racks in the back window, but that there were guns in them. CCW was almost impossible to get ("may issue"). Although I still have a warm place in my heart for Colorado, there's no way I would ever move back to the Denver area. And I'm not too sure about the western slope any more either.

quote:

Originally posted by 12131:
Denver
Baltimore
Detroit
Seattle
Portland
San Fran
Los Angeles
Chicago
NYC
Austin
And on and on and on... All run by rats.

Take note ID, MT, UT, AZ, TX, GA, NC, SC, TN. They’re coming like a mestatasized cancer. You all may enjoy the immediate increase in prop values, but your other values will surely suffer.

In the major cities this decline has been happening with the full support of the majority of voters living there. Now this voter approved decline is now beginning to become state wide especially in California. So, I'm forced to conclude decline is a choice.

quote:

Originally posted by goose5:
In the major cities this decline has been happening with the full support of the majority of voters living there. Now this voter approved decline is now beginning to become state wide especially in California. So, I'm forced to conclude decline is a choice.

Keep in mind, there's still large swaths of each electorate, THAT DOESN'T VOTE. Its amazing in most elections, you're lucky to see over 50% participation.

San Francisco, I know for a fact, would look quite different, if the Asian population at-large bothered to vote. Same also for the Latin population. As the generations continue to build, participation goes upward, however, the shrugging off of elections and blasé acceptance of certain conditions is frustrating.

A good educational vid. Thx for sharing. I seldom go into Denver. I used to frequent many of the areas shown. Did you hear the statement..this is what happens when one party controls things. I totally agree. I could go on. Very, very sad.

That video is extremely depressing. I grew up in Denver and spent a good part of my past professional life working downtown, a lot of it next to Civic Center Park. We had seen things in decline for the past few years when visiting friends and family. 16th Street Mall used to be great to hang out on the weekends and wander around during the week during lunch.

Now it is looking down right scary. I had no idea that the riots did that much damage. Maddening that no one in the city or state is showing any kind of leadership to take control and clean the mess up.

One of the reasons I enjoyAlaska so much is that it reminds me of whatColorado used to be. I know things will never return to what they were, but I feel Denver and Colorado has become truly lost.

I agree that the non-voting public is the biggest reason that the various States have gone to the Left.
I see fellows who are young enough that they should have a stake in their childrens' and their own future who just say that the vote doesn't matter.
That in itself has caused so much Progressive growth.
I have always voted looking to the future.
Tomorrow is what matters.

quote:

Originally posted by jerkyjer:

quote:

Originally posted by 12131:
Denver
Baltimore
Detroit
Seattle
Portland
San Fran
Los Angeles
Chicago
NYC
Austin
And on and on and on... All run by rats.

Take note ID, MT, UT, AZ, TX, GA, NC, SC, TN. They’re coming like a mestatasized cancer. You all may enjoy the immediate increase in prop values, but your other values will surely suffer.

That's the real problem. People are laughing and happy that all these democrat run states and cities are failing but the people move to red states and vote blue so, as you said, the cancer spreads. Eventually the cancer spreads enough to turn once red states blue and eventually it will be impossible for a Republican to be president.

quote:

Originally posted by jerkyjer:

quote:

Originally posted by 12131:
Denver
Baltimore
Detroit
Seattle
Portland
San Fran
Los Angeles
Chicago
NYC
Austin
And on and on and on... All run by rats.

Take note ID, MT, UT, AZ, TX, GA, NC, SC, TN. They’re coming like a mestatasized cancer. You all may enjoy the immediate increase in prop values, but your other values will surely suffer.

Pretty sure we already knew this, years ago.

We manage properties in downtown Denver and it is truly scary how it has changed in the last 2-3 years. Never a dull moment.

It's Seattle in the Rockies. Their own version of 'Seattle is dying'..

quote:

Originally posted by Opus Dei:

quote:

Originally posted by jerkyjer:

quote:

Originally posted by 12131:
Denver
Baltimore
Detroit
Seattle
Portland
San Fran
Los Angeles
Chicago
NYC
Austin
And on and on and on... All run by rats.

Take note ID, MT, UT, AZ, TX, GA, NC, SC, TN. They’re coming like a mestatasized cancer. You all may enjoy the immediate increase in prop values, but your other values will surely suffer.

Pretty sure we already knew this, years ago.

You forgot Boston, we make Austin look red!

When you've made up your mind to disassociate all negativity from youre chosen point of view all negative consequences must be ignored, suppressed or excused. That's life for the big city liberal.

Just finished the documentary. Fifty years ago Denver was one of the nicest small cities in the country. Now it’s a city run by platitudes and there are no consequences for failure to govern, failure to do your job, and failure to follow the law. Denver appears to be becoming Beirut (once called “Paris of the East”), now the Queen City of the Plains is a dirty, dangerous, corrupt, lawless hellhole. Both our kids are in suburban Denver; it’s bad enough to have to go there...

Steffan Tubbs, the producer of the documentary is interviewed by Jon Caldara of the Independence Institute on why he made the film and where he believes the blame lies, as well as Denver's ten year Road Home plan to end homeless.

During this discussion they "connect the dots" on a few facts...such as how so many of the homeless are living in brand new tents of the same make and same color...and many with Black Lives Matter signage on them.




Link to original video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdmMxQYr634

Great interview, and an important documentary. I was 19 years old and I lived in the Capitol Hill area, just off Colfax Avenue for a couple of years, before I ended up in the foothills, west of Denver (Idledale, Indian Hills, Evergreen). That was a long time ago. If you have moved to metro Denver at any time in the last 25-30 years, you can’t imagine how different it was. When I drive down the Front Range and into Denver city limits, I can’t imagine how different it was. I understand that Hickenlooper, who was obviously a driving force in turning Denver into a shithole, is running against Republican, Cory Gardner for the U.S. Senate. I have heard through politically involved friends on the Western Slope that there was a debate and that Gardner wiped the floor with Hick, whose performance was almost embarrassing. Hope so, Colorado needs to keep that seat Republican.