It's fitting that Pres. Obama is signing the new stimulus bill Tuesday at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, just 100 miles down I-25 (which is closed right now due to blizzard conditions). The stimulus bill aims to put people to work (and back to work). It also features money for the National Institutes of Health and various other science and medical facilities.
Not sure why the president chose Denver. It is the site of his nomination as the Democratic Party's candidate for president. Without Denver's Democrats, Obama would not have carried Colorado on Nov. 4. O.K., Boulder contributed too. Denver is smack in the middle of Colorado and not far from the center of the nation. With a bit of a stretch, Denver might be able to claim "Heartland" status. It's also my birthplace, which doesn't count for much. I do love the place though.
I've spent hundreds of hours in the DMNS, first as a kid and later as an adult. We've taken field trips to the museum, mostly when our kids were young and impressionable. I loved the dinosaur skeletons that used to be the place's main attraction. The bones were dug out of formations in Colorado and Wyoming. Reconstructed in the museum as a brontosaurus, it had to be taken down and reassembled as scientists continued to uncover more info. That's the way it should be, right? Science marches on. Change happens.
When the economy needs a fix, you get started fixing it.
2 comments:
As a Denverite, I'm thrilled that the President will be signing the stimulus bill here. I'm not sure how open to the public it will be, but I won't be able to go anyway, since I'll be on a flight to Boston.
I like to think that Obama chose Denver because Colorado is an example of a state that is changing in profound ways. His win here, which my wife and I worked hard for, was extremely gratifying. Denver also delivered the largest crowd of any U.S. Obama rally during the campaign, more than 100,000 at Civic Center Park on Oct. 26. And of course the acceptance speech at Invesco Field won't ever be forgotten by any of us who were there, including him.
I heard that the bill-signing will be an invitation-only event. I'd love to be there, but will take pride in the bill being signed in one of my favorite places. Happy trails.
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