Jen Barr

If I sound angry, its because I was/am

As I always say when some right-winger starts going on about "red tape that slows innovation", every regulation on the books represents a lesson we as a society learned the hard way, and then encoded so we wouldn't forget. It's someone's blood & pain.

Can I donate mine to the cause?

Thank you!

If anyone reading this thread has any book suggestions on the topic, I’d appreciate the recommendation. I’m familiar with some of the conspiracy theories, but I’d love to read a deep dive on the history.

Shut Up & Write!™ Cafe Óle Lakewood, Thu, Nov 13, 2025, 5:00 PM | Meetup Join us for an hour of writing! We’ve discovered that it’s strikingly helpful to write with other writers. See if it’s true for you, at 5pm on Thursday evenings at Cafe Ole

I love my little Shut Up & Write community--a low key way to find a writing community with no pressure to share if you don't want to but people willing to read if you'd like. If you're in Denver area, feel free to join!

www.meetup.com/shutupandwri...

Inside Colorado's "bullish with guardrails" AI approach Colorado is an example of a state where AI safety remains a top priority.

I don't know, maybe before implementing the plagiarism machine in state gov, we can instead get all agencies to use EITHER Google Docs OR Microsoft products.
www.axios.com/local/denver...

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I love introducing friends to Indian action awesomeness with Dhoom 2. (Skip the first one.) Plus, Hrithik Roshan is a fantastic dancer.

The main thing I came away with watching those movies was a crush on Ewan McGregor, which, unlike the prequels, has aged well.

Why do you hate people?

ME: [extremely burnt out] I need to take the day off to relax

ALSO ME: I wonder if there is a way that I could relax that would be more productive

The world’s first trillionaire initiated a move that has left more than half a million people dead, most of whom are children.

As someone who processes reg feedback, I am planning to cross stitch “not my monkeys, not my circus” to hang in my office to commemorate all the times I get feedback on statute.

I love how multicultural this menu is!

Sorry, you said the part about farmers already!

As a current Coloradan, I’ll also add that the increased funds are also going to pay for parts of the original program that there wasn’t enough money for: increasing cafeteria staff wages and paying local farmers.

We’re giving $40 billion to Argentina.

This is $5 billion MORE that the entire USAID budget that DOGE cut.

YOU MUST TAKE YOUR MEDICATIONS TO HAVE STRENGTH TO CRUSH YOUR ENEMIES.

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Because CO has a non-medical exemption for school vaccines, I have been getting hate mail from both anti AND pro vaccine people.

Please note everyone.

What’s leaving is not just a head count. It’s millions of person-years of accumulated informal knowledge and institutional memory.

The federal government is being destroyed, not reformed.

Anyone get hella stressed getting a haircut? The combo of staring at myself in a mirror and small talking with a stranger is a lot to deal with.

All I can think about is the Weird Al song Albuquerque.

back to work

Happy football season!

Black and white cat licking her tail. She’s a cutie!

Moo lickin’ her tail

Silhouette of a black cat arching her back in a window with green trees

Fall kitty for Caturday.

Good for you! Finding a new therapist is always nerve-wracking! (I liken it to dating, in some ways.)

That's flattering, of course! I also highly recommend Merchants of Doubt and Slow Violence as texts on a similar theme.

Love the new Maintenance Phase ep on Vani Hari, the "food babe." I used to teach her stuff to undergrads to study how science can be distorted and manipulated. (Also used the aftermath of the Bhopal gas tragedy as a contrast for how corporates do it.)

Fed employees who left,
Thank you for your service. Truly.

Fed employees still there,
I see you. Thank you for keeping up the fight, keeping the lights on, and answering the phones.

Love,
A state employee