House Cleaner, Landscaper Unimpressed With “Welcome” Sign

in Local Flavor by

Jesus and Mercedes Sandoval-Velasquez are a brother and sister team who struggle to make a living in Fort Collins.  Recent immigrants from Jalisco, Mexico, the two work as a landscaper and housecleaner respectively.  Driving a seventh-hand 1998 Ford pickup, financed from a tote-the-note lot, the working-class duo immediately look out of place in the blue-blooded Fort Collins neighborhood known as Old Town West, where homes are known to sell for seven figures.  For all the obvious exclusivity of Old Town West, Jesus and Mercedes are puzzled to find a small, but visible placard that reads “No matter where you are from, we are glad you’re our neighbor.” in Spanish, English and Arabic.

Focopolitan Tribune reporter Ludwig Schnee caught up with the duo while riding his bicycle and asked each about their reaction to the politically correct sign, and got the usual, “Yo no hablo ingles.”  Fortunately for us at the Trib, Schnee is fluent in Spanglish, intelligible to all parties in the conversation.

Jesus did little to hide his annoyance at the supposed welcome: “The only Spanish-speakers this welcomes are the $10-an-hour Mexicans that have to weed-whack around these pinche signs and clean your houses.  We are about as far from being your neighbors as can be, in a city like Fort Collins.  Mercedes added, “We’re not neighbors!  We don’t see these signs at the trailer park where we live at!  Our whole family works to rent the trailer where we, mani, papi, my three brothers and sisters, our six nieces and nephews and a fat, psycho Chihuahua live in.”  She added, “This sign don’t do nothing for nobody except the people who put it on their lawn.  They put it there to feel good about themselves.  The only Latinos who lives (sic) here are that pinche Brazilian family two blocks that way, and they don’t even speak Spanish!  The husband is like and executive at Swift or some shit like that…”  Jesus interjected, “Armando, our nephew works there… fucking rich assholes.  Okay, we gotta work now.”  Applying earplugs and turning on his weed whacker, Jesus gets to work trimming the edges of the Mountain Avenue home’s front lawn, releasing a smell of fresh-cut grass and gas fumes.

The middle-aged couple who lives in the home where Jesus and Mercedes work were not available to be interviewed, but another Mountain Avenue couple, who also display the same sign on their lawn granted our reporter an interview.  “This sign is more than a symbol of our inclusiveness and the neighborly love we feel towards the marginalized and the misunderstood.  It’s a symbol of our resistance to the wave of bigotry that has taken over our country over the last six months or so.  Kind of like the Sanctuary Restaurant movement, you’ve heard of that, right?”

His wife spoke up, “We’re also thinking of buying it as a welcome mat for our door and have a matching set.  We just hope it’s not made in China or some sweatshop in India.”

Greetings Focopolitans!

in Greetings! by
Forest
“Greetings, Focopolitans!  Welcome to Fort Collins’ premiere source of community satirical news.  We look forward to serving you some fine satire in the weeks/years to come.  In the meantime, we would like to give our readers a little explanation of our name: Focopolitan is our demonym for Fort Collins.  A demonym, in case you haven’t guessed, is what you call a person from a given place.  Demos comes from Greek; it means people.  Nym is name – get it?  If you’re from Denver you’re a Denverite.  If You’re from Halifax, you’re a Haligonian.  If you’re from Galsgow, you’re Glaswegian.  Up until you clicked on our page, Fort Collins had no demonym (we know, ’cause one of our staff members even asked our mayor!).  

 “Let’s break it down: FoCo is short for FOrt COllins.  -Politan comes from the Greek word polis, meaning city-state.  It denotes a person from a given polis.  Combine the two, and there you have it – a person from FoCo!  

 “The Focopolitan Tribune has as its raison d’être (‘that’s reason for being’ in French) to champion AND ridicule both the city of Fort Collins (and in extension the greater Northern Colorado are) and its politics. 

 “We are currently working on our website, so we thought we’d just drop you a line to let you know that we’ll be coming soon with some good stuff for you!”

Bison Population of Soapstone Prairie controlled with Re-introduction of American Indian

in Environment by
Aiming to establish a balance between predators and prey in Soapstone Prairie, the Larimer County Board of Commissioners by unanimity voted to re-introduce natural predators to the newly-established bison herd of the City of Fort Collins-run open space.  After considering a series of options, it seemed that our board of commissioners was partial to the wolf, a high-food chain canine predator whose re-introduction to Yellowstone National Park some three decades ago proved a resounding success, but after cursory discussion, consensus turned to the American Indian.
The establishment of  a pre-white settlement ecosystem in Larimer County dates back to 2008 when Latimer County and the City of Fort Collins established Soapstone Prairie and Red Mountain Open Space respectively.  In 2015, Larimer County Open Spaces re-introduced the North American Bison to a part of Soapstone Prairie.  But what was supposed to be a sustainable herd of bison has ballooned into a problematic headache to the Larimer County Board of Commissioners.  “When the bison herd had its first calf, we rejoiced and the news even reached the [newspaper the Fort CollinsColoradoan.  Now it seems that every month they pop out another calf!  Things are getting out of control here.”  Larimer County Commissioner Steve Johnson said.  “Wolves are simply not enough to keep the population in check.  After watching a History Channel documentary we are quite well-informed on the interaction between the animal and the Indians that lived here long ago.  It seems the animal provided all manner of items that the people needed: shoes, meat, material to make rugs; the Walmart of its time.  Then, I watched a PBS show about the Sand Creek Massacre, and we thought, ‘what better way to make up for that wrong than this?’  We could not pass up the opportunity”  He went on to say, “Wen we considered the interests of nearby residents and ranchers, who would be seriously and adversely affected by wolves, we just thought that bringing a band of Indians in would do the trick.  Now, I want to go home to watch Game of Thrones.”
 
In an interview with the Focopolitan Tribune, American Indian spokesman Yawning Coyote Pratt commented, “What the fuck am I doing here?  How in the hell am I supposed to feed my family with this lousy-ass bow-and arrow?  At least give me a hunting rifle!”  Asked about the Board of Commissioners’ decision to reintroduce him and his family to Soapstone Prairie, Yawning Coyote protested, “I’m Navajo!  Our people never even hunted buffalo!  Gaiter, how would you like it if I gave you this bow-and-arrow and sent your black ass back to Africa?  And you, Donnelly: Go get some potato seeds and see if you can make it after I drop you off in some armpit of Ireland!  Take me back to Arizona, I’ve got a casino to run!”
 
Larimer County Senior Naturalists will track the progress of the Indian population and its adaptation to the Soapstone Prairie ecosystem.  Viewing of both the American Indian and the bison herd is accessible to the public and can be done at the viewing zone at the entrance of the Natural Area.

Northern Colorado Chapter of Ku Klux Klan to Include Asians

in Local Flavor by
Citing lagging membership due to their elderly following, the Northern Colorado chapter of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan announced in a press release last Tuesday that it would open its ranks to Asian-Americans, “But we’re only taking about slants.  We still hate dune coons and mud people,” stated the chapter’s Kleagle.
The Klan has had a long and proud tradition in Colorado over the past century, which includes such notables as five-term Denver mayor Benjamin Stapleton.  In the decades after the heyday of the Stapleton Years, the Klan saw a steady decline of participating members.  During the Civil Rights era, J. Edgar Hoover’s FBI infiltrated the white supremacist group sending its highest-ranking members to prison and the movement to the margins of American politics.  Membership in the Klan dropped precipitously.  Since then, the Klan has not fully recovered its prominence either in Colorado or in the US.  The recent inclusion of Asian-Americans into its ranks is a new and innovative attempt on the part of the KKK to regain its stature, at least in Colorado.
In a phone interview with the Focopolitan Tribune, the Kleagle, or head recruitment officer of Northern Colorado, who requested anonymity said, “Sometimes I feel that we at the KKK don’t get the respect that we deserve for our part in forging the Centennial State.  When they closed down the old Denver airport, we lost the last public thing named after one of us in all of Colorado.  At least the neighborhood’s still named after him… And the Black Lives Matter movement might even change that.  We have to do something about this.”  He further lamented, “They don’t make bigots like they used to here in Colorado, and all the ones that stuck ‘round are dyin’ off.  It’s too bad that Coloradans just don’t value hate no more.  Folks here is just too damn tolerant and inclusive, and we’ve got to put an end to that.  What am I supposed to do?  I reckon I could move down South, but I’d feel like I’m abandoning the cause of bigotry in my beloved Colorado if I did that.”
He added, “We’re seriously thinkin’ of includ’n’ Jews if the Asians doesn’t grow our numbers.  Regardless, we still hate: immigrants, beaners, spicks, Indians of both kinds, faggots, lezzies, trannies, half-breeds, sand niggers and of course real niggers.”  When asked if this new inclusiveness would undermine the Klan’s identity as a racist organization, the Kleagle simply stated, Back in the day, we wouldn’t include Catholics, but now we do.  Just ‘cause we’re includ’n’ more people, don’t make us no less racist.  Back in the early days [of the Ku Klux Klan], who even thought of hating Mexicans or Muslims?  Who’d ever even heard of transgendered people, dykes or fags?  Now, we’re proud to say that nobody in ‘merica hates ‘em more than us.”

Adult Industry Talent Scouts Found at Greeley West High School Career Fair

in Arts and Entertainment by
In what has become a first in Weld County District 6 history, administrators have allowed representatives of D and L Entertainment, an adult industry conglomerate, which includes such websites as dekwansxxxwhitebitches.com and lusciouslindyslustylesbolovers.com, to set up booths alongside other prospective local and national employers. The controversial move has drawn outspoken criticism, indeed ire, from parents, religious leaders and the community at large. “This is so inappropriate! I can’t believe the district allowed pornographers into our school and left Jesus out!” remarked one anonymous parent.

 Dekwan Washington and Linda “Lindy” Dawson, partners in more than just business ventures, had a far more pedestrian view of their entry into the high school’s career fair. “We’re just scouting for some new talent for our ‘barely legal’ category. SoCal and South Florida just can’t fill the demand for it. We’re a growing industry.” Remarked Dekwan, “We’ve been getting lots of interest from the young women here…and some of the staff! I could use’em in our MILF section but that ain’t what we came here for.” Asked about the controversy that surrounded her and Dekwan’s professional presence there, Dawson added, “Well, if people don’t want to work for us, they don’t have to. Just like if they don’t want to work for McDonald’s they don’t have to either, and if they don’t like porn, we’re not forcing them to watch it. Serious, folks, get over yourselves.” Linda and Dekwan added that in the state of California alone more than 10,000 people are employed in some way in the adult entertainment business, where it is a $13 billon dollar annual industry. “What other $13 billon, 10,000-employee business should be denied access to a good staffing solution like this?”

 School administrators remained officially mum over their decision, but it appears to the Focopolitan Tribune that they did not fully know what D and L Entertainment was until the career fair was long underway. Speaking to our reporters, an administrator took a nuanced view of D and L Entertainment’s presence, “Well, what can I say? Having the adult industry here just opens another door of opportunity for some students to maybe get a shot at winning for once.” The administrator added, “All branches of the military recruit here, and that job can actually kill you, maim you and give you PTSD—the real kind, not the chicken-shit-safe-space variety! Are any of those parent-protestors going to tell me that the porn industry, which doesn’t get you killed, is somehow worse? It’s okay to go off to kill and die for your country no questions asked, but acting in an adult film is somehow worth the community’s protest?”

 Dekwan and Linda were pleased with the overall result of the career fair. “We had quite a bit of interest and when they’ve graduated and turned 18, we’ll be giving them a call,” replied Linda. “Definitely will have to try something like this again…much more impressive than recruiting from down-on-their-luck actors!” Dekwan added.

McDonald’s Franchise Owner Confounded Over Sanctuary Restaurant Movement

in Business and Economics by

Laporte – Standing outside his area of business, Jim Swift, franchise owner of the local McDonald’s, spoke to representatives of the neighboring city of Fort Collins Sanctuary Restaurant movement.

This movement is an offshoot of the Sanctuary Cities movement. Sanctuary Cities decline from co-operating with Federal law enforcement about turning over people who have violated immigration laws, for deportation. Sanctuary restaurants, on the other hand, claim to seat and serve all people who come through their doors, regardless of their race, ethnic background, skin color, gender or legal status in our country, pretty much like what every restaurant does everywhere in the world.

“I’m confused,” he stated as the representatives drove off in their Chevy Volt.

Speaking frankly to the reporters of the FoCoPolitan Tribune Mr. Swift expressed his surprise that there was such a thing as a movement for something so trivial. “Do they not understand the basic tenets of capitalism?”

“I get the city aspect of this movement since they have the power to back it up, but restaurants? Hell, just from what they were saying, McDonald’s has been a ‘sanctuary restaurant’ from the get-go. Shit, any restaurant by its very nature is defined as part of this movement. I serve people things; things they want. And you should see and smell some of these people; hello, maybe don’t smoke that ton of weed and try showering every now-and-then but, do I turn them away? Hell no! Why would I? All we care about is that they buy something, anything, even if it’s just a juice box.”

To illustrate his point, Mr. Swift ducked back into his franchise and emerged with a box of Chicken Nuggets. “I have food and you have money. You want food and I need money. Voila; you gave me your money and I gave you food. Damn, man, it’s not like its calculus.”

“But now I have some wimpy-assed young kid coming in here trying to tell me to join a movement that seeks to espouse exactly why I bought a franchise in the first place? You need to pull your head out of your marijuana-infused ass and quit drinking the Kool-Aid and actually work and then, THEN you might understand why this shit only works to make lazy, rich liberals feel good about themselves!”

“It’s not for the businesses, it’s for you; you fucking snowflakes! Morally masturbating yourselves instead of actually doing something; surprise, makes you feel better but doesn’t solve anything, does it? This ain’t Mississippi in the 1950s! This is twenty-first century Colorado! The fact that this has to be even said is a sad state of affairs for peoples’ understanding of how shit works! You getting all this?”

Swift went on to state, “Jesus Christ clean the cobwebs from your brain with those dreadlocks and wake up to reality. You can’t make a living from discriminating against people who want to pay you money. So you’re not morally superior with your damn sanctuary thing-y, just fucking ignorant of basic economics.”

He quieted for a moment. “Damn, really just damn. Sorry for the verbal dumping; it’s a soapbox thing of mine. Hope you got it all; I gotta get back to work now.  I’ve got people to feed.”

Conservative Safe Space Includes Screens of Fox News, Bibles

in Politics by

Jolene and Chuck Schaeffer have had it with the increasingly liberal culture that literally surrounds them.  The couple lives in the conservative enclave of Loveland, which is adjacent to the dyed-in-the-wool blue areas of Boulder to the south and Fort Collins to the north.  Ever since the 2010 re-drawing of congressional district lines by the Colorado State House of Representatives, the couple has felt a deep sense of disenfranchisement.  “We’re now lumped into Colorado’s 2nd District and stuck with Jared Polis or whatever other Boulder liberal the commie-loving Democratic Party can come up with,” laments Jolene.  “All that has disempowered us and our neighbors and invalidated all that we believe in and stand for.”  According to Chuck, over the last seven years, Northern Colorado conservatives have gradually become traumatized at having their opinions, experiences and feelings repeatedly invalidated by secularists, gun-control advocates, vegetarians, vegans, pushy racial minorities, hybrid drivers, LGBTQs, their advocates and other types liberals in general.

Walking past a mounted deer head and a big-screen TV blaring Fox News, guests find comfort and succor in Guns and Ammo magazine and The Nation.  Copies of the Holy Bible and the US Constitution, with the 2nd Amendment highlighted, are readily available.  Visitors here enjoy a warm, home-cooked meal prepared by Jolene herself.  “We love it!” says Bill Sullivan, a frequent guest and recent resident from Arkansas, “Jolene makes the best hamburger-and-french-fries ever!  And on Sundays, after church, we even get barbecue.”  Bill expanded, “But not that soul-brother stuff that goes with fried chicken and corn bread.”  Jolene interjected, “No, not at all, that’s a trigger for some of us here.  I have to be careful of what I serve for dessert too- like watermelon- that’s worse than saying ‘vegan’ for some folks here.”  On top of that, occasional activities such as carpentry, drywalling and auto mechanics, of non-hybrid vehicles of course, occupy guests’ time. For the occasional conservative woman, looking for a soothing activity, Mrs. Schaeffer even teaches cooking from scratch and sewing on an old-fashioned pedal-operated sewing machine.

The home has become popular amongst conservative baby boomers and their younger, but still adult, counterparts. “We don’t have many teenagers or young adults here yet,” explained Jolene. “They’ll find us eventually when they get out into the world and realize that there aren’t many places for them.”

“This is a place where men can be men, and women can be women; none of this 31-flavor gender nonsense.”  Sullivan went on, “Yup, who’d a thunk it?  There’s still a place in the Front Range outside of the Springs where people can talk guns, church, the Constitution, Jesus and ‘Merica IN ENGLISH, without fear of being marginalized, invalidated or have their feelings trampled on.”

The couple hopes that their dedication to their values and success at creating a safe space will encourage others to do the same. “Even when you’re surrounded by liberal nitwits there are people like us who need a space to be who they are and if you create it, there will be people who will use it!” exclaimed Chuck.

 

“Fuck You” Mudra Enlightens Midtown Fort Collins Yoga Students

in Health and Fitness by

This week local yoga teacher, Sushineguruji responded after hearing one of her students say, “It’s all good,” that today’s class message would be about embracing the “Fuck You” in life. She quoted, “The path to heaven is through hell,” from famed yogi Sri Swami Satchitananada. She continued to say, “We have to embrace the shittiest parts of our nature in order to transcend them.” Part of the class involved gazing into the eyes of another participant with the “fuck you” mudra, and fully embodying the personal meaning of this sentiment to cleanse the soul of repressed anger. Another exercise involved all yoga students in a circle bowing in prayer position to each and every person in turn saying, “fuck you.”

Some responded with laughter. “It was just so absurd,” said Ridley, a participant who decided to try yoga for the first time. While Bob, a class regular said, “I like it, I mean I realized if I could find something I hated about everyone in this class, then maybe I could also find something I could love in each person too. And then it just hit me. Dude, we really are ALL ONE! This was a powerful teaching, man. I am forever changed.”

The class ended with the mantra, “I bow to the shittiest part of your nature.” This was explained to be an important step in being present to the totality of life experience, and the potent shadow mantra to the customary, “Namaste,” which is often translated as “I bow to the light within you.”

Yoga student Moonbeam stated, “I’ll be honest and say at first I was shocked, but Sunshineguruji always knows the right thing to say. I feel truly cleansed and more enlightened to who I would like to say ‘Fuck you’ to now.” Another participant, Amber, shared, “I felt so much grace after embracing my shittiness. While holding the “fuck you” mantra, I wanted to pull Orion’s stinky dreadlocks out of his head and punch him in the face! However I realized I was just transferring feelings onto him from my former lover Bryce for cheating on me, and that I actually really love Orion. We made love afterwards, and it was truly cosmic.” Orion responded, “She’s really sexy when she’s pissed off.”

Will this become yoga’s newest trend? Sunshinegruruji said that she currently has a “Fuck You Yoga” teacher training program that is eligible for Yoga Alliance yoga teacher continuing education credits. There will be an article in next month’s Yoga Journal about more of the profound transformations from the practice of “Fuck You Yoga.” Be sure to look for it at the Fort Collins Food Co-op.

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