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Fire and Fury in the Rocky Mountain Empire?

September 24, 2009

I once listened to a somewhat famous politician call the Rocky Mountain West an Empire. He cited, among other things, fierce independence and an outright distrust of Government.

“Leave us well alone!” was the title of a fellow student that was in a Political Science course that I took, and yes, her thesis was on western politics as opposed to far western, as in West Coast, and Eastern, as in the eastern states that make up New England. Is it just regional pride? Possibly, but, I have another hypothesis.

Before the United States was founded a group of men came west. Those men are generally referred to as “The Mountain Men.” Most were, shall we say “social outcasts?” They came from places like Georgia, and Alabama, and notably Tennessee and Kentucky. They too were a fiercely independent group of men. They fought with, and often joined Native American tribes taking wives, and eking out a living in a very unforgiving place, and time in history. They were rebels simple, and pure. Some time later there was “The War of Northern Aggression.” Which was followed by a great migration of people to Oregon, Washington, and California. Most of those people came from places such as New England. Others came, and stayed, and tamed the harsh environment. Those people,for the most part, were from the Confederation, and they brought with them the same streak of courage and independence that the Mountain Men had brought. Texan’s settled Montana. The Mormon’s sought freedom in Utah, and so on. The underlying theme being a quest for freedom and liberty. In that most free of earthy nations.

Today while surfing the net I came across an essay worthy of classical journalism. The kind that is just not seen these days. It is indeed a long read. As tomes should be! Read it at…

Dems lose footing in the Rocky Mountain West

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Posted in Economics, Editorial, Opinion, Education, Gun Control, Immigration, Law, Local Politics Colorado, News, Politics, Wordpress Political Blogs | 1 Comment »

Independence Institute: Newsletter

September 18, 2009

From the bastion of freedom and free markets in Golden, Colorado!

Save The Date: Can you believe it, the Independence Institute turns 25 years young this year!! So save the date and book your seats now for our 25th Annual Founders’ Night Dinner with keynote speaker P.J. O’Rourke…it’s going to be huge! That’s Thursday, November 19th at the Infinity Park International Ballroom in Glendale, CO. Details and RSVP info here. Or you can call Mary at (303) 279-6536, or email her at mary@i2i.org. Hurry, this event is filling up fast.

He’s Not My Doctor! Remember those anti-Bush bumper stickers that read, “He’s not my President”? Well, I am pleased to announce that we at the Independence Institute recently debuted our new awesomely awesome “He’s Not My Doctor” bumper stickers. If you’d like to show the world that Obama is not your doctor, email Mary MacFarlane at mary@i2i.org and send her your name, address, and primary email account, and we’ll send you a brand spanking new bumper sticker – free of charge! PS – Due to the overwhelming demand, please limit your requests to just 2 per household. Thanks!

Free Our Health Care: Our brilliant Health Care Policy Center director Linda Gorman alerted me to a couple great health care links. First, we have the Free Our Health Care Now online petition, that some 732,000-plus people have already signed. Let’s help spread the word to our elected officials that we do not want a government takeover of our health care. As much as some may want to see doctor’s offices resembling the DMV, I prefer that didn’t happen.

Second, we’ve got the Conservatives for Patient’s Rights website, which has a large amount of important links and resources.

And of course don’t forget our Patient Power Now blog, written mostly by health care policy analyst Brian Schwartz, with special guest appearances by Linda Gorman herself. Be sure to check out the John Goodman Health Policy Blog, where Linda is a featured writer.

Must Hear Podcast: Over at ivoices.org Jon Caldara sits down with Dave Kopel to discuss free speechand some of the historical limiters to speech, leading all the way to McCain-Feingold of present day. There is a new challenge to McCain-Feingold headed to the courts. How does Dave think it will turn out? Give a listen here.

Must See TV: Want to know who’s up and who’s down in Colorado’s political races? How about the ongoing efforts to close a state budget gap? Denver Post reporter Lynn Bartels and Tim Hoover join host Jon Caldara for an end of summer wrap up of state polics and the budget debate. Tune in this Friday night at 8:30 pm to KBDI Channel 12; repeated the following Monday afternoon at 1:30 p.m..

Perspective: Ben DeGrow from the Education Policy Center thinks northeast Denver’s demand for more schools deserves some outside the box solutions. Check out his latest, “Stapleton School Shortage Needs Creative Thinking.”

Until next week…

Straight on

Jon Caldara

www.independenceinstitute.org

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Posted in Blogroll, Economics, Editorial, Opinion, Education, Law, Local Politics Colorado, News, Politics, Uncategorized, Wordpress Political Blogs | 3 Comments »

SB-2009 hoax still out there…

August 27, 2009

“SB-2099” a hoax
IRS 1040 does not require you to list guns

Daily, we’ve being deluged by well-meaning gun owners who are scared that a bill called “SB-2099” has passed Congress secretly, and that you must now list your firearms on your IRS 1040 forms.  If you fell prey to this e-mail hoax, you need to join a real gun rights group you trust.There are a great number of indicators in this e-mail that prove the sender is not to be trusted.

“This bill will become public knowledge 30 days after it is voted into law.” Baloney. I don’t trust the scumbuckets in Washington, D.C. either.

But a bill can’t become law without “public knowledge” or without a vote. If this were possible, is there any doubt the liberals would use it to immediately enact their gun control fantasies? The only thing stopping them is…well, frankly, you.

Another thing that tells you this isn’t accurate is that the US Senate doesn’t list them as “SB 2099” or “SB-2099”. It would be “S. 2099”.

The third glaring indication that it isn’t real is that when you do a search of “S. 2099” or even “2099” from the US Senate website, it returns nothing.

I’m a former US Senate employee (Sen. Bill Armstrong’s staff), and still have a lot of contacts on the Hill. So I’ve got a good handle on federal legislation — we track federal legislation here:

http://www.nationalgunrights.org/billwatch.shtmlThe one thing they did get right is that 2099 was, at one time, a bill in the U.S. Senate… in 2000. And yes, it was a gun control disaster.

It didn’t get anywhere, but 9 years later it’s not still alive.

However, this illustrates why we exist: There’s a lot of misinformation out there — especially on the internet — and gun owners need someone they trust take the time to decipher it. They want to know what’s happening without being scammed, so they become members of groups they trust.

If you are sent this e-mail, forward our above reply, with a note from you to the sender and all the recipients:

“I asked a gun lobbyist I trust about the legislation you referenced, “SB-2099”. And, as you can see from this 15-year veteran of the wars to save our freedoms, the referenced legislation isn’t as advertised.

There are plenty of real threats to our right to keep and bear arms.

Let’s put our energy into fighting them, not ghosts.

That’s why I’m a member of Rocky Mountain Gun Owners: I trust them to know what’s happening and alert me when my help is needed.

If you live in Colorado, you need to be a member. There is no other group in Colorado who truly defends our rights without compromise.

Click here to join RMGO

Click here if you’d like to receive more information in the mail
http://www.rmgo.org/mailinglist.php

Click here to read more about RMGO
http://www.rmgo.org/about.shtml

This is getting old to say the least. I am beginning to believe that these email hoax’s are the work of anti freedom and liberty types in an attempt to keep people riled up…

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Posted in Editorial, Opinion, Education, Gun Control, Law, Local Politics Colorado, Men's Issues, News, Politics, Wordpress Political Blogs | 1 Comment »

I2I newsletter

August 27, 2009

Jon Caldara at the Independence Institute brings us this newsletter. Commie’s cry, go ahead, it’s alright to whine…

Benefits of the H1N1 “swine” flu scare – Dave Kopel is wearing one of those surgical masks around the office.  The women here are saying the place never looked better.

He’s Not My Doctor! Remember those anti-Bush bumper stickers that read, “He’s not my President”? Well, I am pleased to announce that we at the Independence Institute recently debuted our new awesomely awesome “He’s Not My Doctor” bumper stickers. If you’d like to show the world that Obama is not your doctor, email Mary MacFarlane at mary@i2i.org and send her your name, address, and primary email account, and we’ll send you a brand spanking new bumper sticker – free of charge! PS – Due to the overwhelming demand, please limit your requests to just 2 per household. Thanks!

Free our health care: Our brilliant Health Care Policy Center director Linda Gorman alerted me to a couple great health care links. First, we have the Free Our Health Care Now online petition, that some 732,000-plus people have already signed. Let’s help spread the word to our elected officials that we do not want a government takeover of our health care. As much as some may want to see doctor’s offices resembling the DMV, I prefer that didn’t happen.

Second, we’ve got the Conservatives for Patient’s Rights website, which has a large amount of important links and resources.

And of course don’t forget our Patient Power Now blog, written mostly by health care policy analyst Brian Schwartz, with special guest appearances by Linda Gorman herself. Be sure to check out the John Goodman Health Policy Blog, where Linda is a featured writer.

Does Obama care violate the constitution? That’s the question posed by Independence Institute Senior Fellow and constitutional law expert Rob Natelson (and the answer appears to be a big, fat yes). Guest blogging over at The Cauldron, Rob lays out what he calls “profound” constitutional difficulties with “empowering the federal government with decisions over the life, death, and health of three hundred million Americans.”

Not only does Rob find constitutional issues with a federal takeover of health care from an “Originalist” perspective but also points out several glaring issues in the context of modern Supreme Court jurisprudence.

Meet the “Second most hated woman in America” (or so says Sean Hannity): Come to our personal legislative briefing with Minnessota Republican Congresswoman Michele Bachmann. Join us for an update on all the latest national issues — health care, cap and trade, stimulus and more — on Monday, August 31. RSVP online here.

Sexism run amok: Can you believe September 9th will be our 10th Independent Women’s Lunch?! I can’t believe I’ve let the women have this much fun without us. This time the keynote speaker is Lisa Schomp, CEO/President of Ralph Schomp Automotive. RSVP required!

Light rail losing its luster with the media? I recently saw a pig fly by my window and I think it had something to do with this Denver Post piece by editorial board member Chuck Plunkett. In an op-ed titled “Prius effect: Energy efficient cars undercut the appeal of light rail,” Chuck cites, and even agrees with some of the work of the Independence Institute’s own Randal O’Toole from the Center for the American Dream.

Money quote from the piece, “Light rail–useful from the gritty aired 1970s to not so long ago, when cars drank gasoline like frat boys drink beer–is now obsolete, and a transportation option that our environment can no longer afford.”

R.I.P. Rose Friedman: The wife of one of the greatest economists the world has ever known died last Tuesday of heart failure. Rose Friedman, who happens to be a damn good economist in her own right, was believed to have been 98 years young. I’ll never forget the day that I met both Rose and Milton Friedman. I was walking into an elevator as they were walking out. The elevator doors opened and I couldn’t help but blurt out, “Has anyone ever told you that you guys look just like Rose and Milton Friedman?!” To which they replied, “Well, that’s because we are!” And so we went an ate breakfast together. It was one of the best experiences of my life. I mean, it’s on the same level for me as getting to hang out Pete Townshend. It doesn’t get much better than that. Rest in peace, Rose, you and Milton will truly be missed.

In honor of both Rose and Milton, I urge you to watch the series Free to Choose, available in its entirety here.

Must See TV: What’s the state of property rights in Boulder County? Land use attorney Bob Hoban and Gary Zimmermand of the No Trail Alliance join guest host Jessica Corry on Independent Thinking to discuss the taking of private property in Boulder County to build a nature trail. Tune in this Friday night at 8:30 pm to KBDI Channel 12; repeated the following Tuesday evening at 5 p.m.

Perspective: Ex-Independence Institute mintern (minion/intern) Todd Hollenbeck reminds us all of the desperate and shrill tactics opponents of TABOR used to try and scare Colorado voters into saying no to TABOR in 1992. You will probably be hearing some of the same half-truths and outright lies about TABOR soon enough, so check out Todd’s piece, “Your tax dollars: Will they say anything to get them?”

Until next week…

Straight on

Jon Caldara

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Posted in Economics, Editorial, Opinion, Education, Law, Local Politics Colorado, News, Politics, Wordpress Political Blogs | Comments Off on I2I newsletter

Ritters Gun Tax: unalienable right to be taxed

August 19, 2009

Someday I will understand the whole “permit” and “taxing” or “fees” for unalienable rights by governments large and small.

Please don’t misunderstand me. As I do support the various taxes on fishing and hunting gear that support the sports. But back door registration schemes as taxes..? Read on, and contact your Colorado State representatives.

Click here to sign our Petition against Ritter’s Gun Tax!

Though this idea has been rejected by both Republican and Democrat controlled legislatures, Ritter now claims it will bring $500 million to state coffers.
“The Governor’s office is using estimates for firearms purchases based on recent purchase numbers, and it highly inflates the number,” said the Dudley Brown, the Executive Director of the largest pro-gun organization in Colorado, Rocky Mountain Gun Owners.  Since the election of Barack Obama the number of firearms sales have skyrocketed across the nation.
“But even with a smaller number, he’s forcing citizens who practice a constitutionally protected right to pay a tax first, much like the old Jim Crow laws,” said Brown.  “We don’t believe gun owners should have to ask permission to buy a firearm in the first place, and we’re now supposed to pay for their gun control?”
Colorado uses a “Baby Brady” Registration system system to check purchasers’ backgrounds.  This puts gun owners in double jeopardy, since they must go through the FBI check as well as that of the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.  If Colorado’s Brady Act was repealed, the FBI would conduct Brady Registration Checks, which wouldn’t cost Colorado citizens and would shorten the wait time to 30 seconds — as opposed to CBI checks, which often take hours.
“Now, Governor Ritter wants to put a tax on that registration as well.  He might just as well repeal our State Constitution’s protections,” said Brown, “since they don’t seem to matter to him.”
Colorado’s Brady Act was passed in 2000 under a Republican-controlled legislature and Governor.

Click here to sign our Petition against Ritter’s Gun Tax!

Forward email

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Posted in Editorial, Opinion, Education, Gun Control, Hunting Fishing and the Great Outdoors, Law, Local Politics Colorado, News, Non Compos Mentis, Politics, Wordpress Political Blogs | 2 Comments »

WATERFOWL REGULATIONS FOR 2009

August 8, 2009

COMMISSION TO FINALIZE WATERFOWL REGULATIONS FOR 2009 SEASON AT AUGUST WORKSHOP IN FRISCO

FRISCO, Colo. – The Commission will finalize 2009 waterfowl season dates and bag limits and will hear public comment on the five-Year Review of the Big Game Season Structure at its August 10th workshop in Frisco.

The workshop will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 2:40 p.m. at the Holiday Inn – Summit County, 1129 North Summit Boulevard.

The Commission will consider amending 2009 waterfowl and migratory bird hunting seasons for the Pacific and Central Flyway portions of Colorado including season dates and bag and possession limits. Federal regulations have set more liberal parameters for the Commission to consider. Possible Central Flyway changes include: Allowing for pintails and canvasbacks to be taken during the entire season instead of just the first 39 days with a daily bag limit of one bird per species and also allowing for a daily bag limit of three wood ducks instead of two.

In the Pacific Flyway, the Commission will have the option to allow for a daily bag limit of one canvasback, two pintails instead of one and allowing for a daily bag limit of three scaup instead of two, during the first 86 days of the season.

The Commission maintains the ability to keep regulations more restrictive than federal regulations, and is therefore not required to make these changes.

Division of Wildlife staff will also present the Commission with draft guidelines and alternatives for the 2010-2014 big game Season Structure. Limited Elk Game Management Unit nominations will be included in this presentation.

The Commission will hear public comment on the Five-Year Review of Big Game Season Structure agenda item at all meetings and workshops during the process. Anyone who would like to comment is asked to fill out a “blue sheet” –Request to Speak Before the Wildlife Commission – and give it to any Division of Wildlife staff. Comment may be given on any aspect, but will be most effective if directed at the portion of the Big Game Season Structure topic being discussed at that meeting. The time of testimony may be limited by the Commission chair. The usual time limit is three minutes. The Commission is scheduled to finalize the 2010-2014 Big Game Season Structure at its September 2009 meeting.

Drafts of the Middle Park Deer Management Plan (D-9, GMU’s 18, 27, 28, 37, 181 and 371) and the State Bridge Deer Management Plan (D-8, GMU’s 15, 35, 36 and 45) will be presented to the Commission by Division staff.

Constituents can listen to Commission meetings and workshops through the Division’s Web site. This opportunity is provided to keep constituents better informed about the development of regulations by the Commission and how they and Division staff are resolving issues facing Colorado’s wildlife.

People can listen to the live audio feeds of the meeting by clicking on the “listen to audio” link on the “Wildlife Commission” Web page during the meeting. Broadcasts are only available during the meeting.

To view the entire agenda for the August Commission Workshop, please visit: http://wildlife.state.co.us/Wildlife Commission/.

The Colorado Wildlife Commission is an 11-member board appointed by the governor. The Commission sets Division of Wildlife regulations and policies for hunting, fishing, watchable wildlife, land purchases and property regulations.

For more information about Division of Wildlife go to: http://wildlife.state.co.us.

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Posted in Education, Hunting Fishing and the Great Outdoors, Law, Local Politics Colorado, News | Comments Off on WATERFOWL REGULATIONS FOR 2009

BLUE MESA FISHERY MANAGEMENT ISSUES

August 8, 2009

NEW DOW WEB PAGE EXPLAINS BLUE MESA FISHERY MANAGEMENT ISSUES

GUNNISON, Colo. — Starting in late October, the Colorado Division of Wildlife is planning to remove some lake trout from Blue Mesa Reservoir to help restore balance to the fishery. To respond to anglers’ questions about fishery management regarding kokanee salmon and trout at the reservoir, a new information page is available in the fishing section at the DOW web site, http://wildlife.state.co.us/Fishing.

“There is a lot of interest in this issue and we want to make sure people understand our management plans,” said John Alves, senior aquatic biologist for the DOW’s southwest region. “Anglers can submit questions through the Q and A section of the web page and we’ll provide answers that will be posted. Rather than responding to every question the DOW is receiving individually, the web site will allow more immediate feedback for our constituents and will let everyone see the answers.”

The DOW is planning to remove some lake trout that are 30 inches and smaller in size. Larger fish will be released.

DOW officials stated previously that 5,000 lake trout might be removed. However, because the DOW has never removed fish from the reservoir, no target number will be used this year. Biologists will be working to locate fish and test removal techniques during the first year. Population monitoring work for the salmon and trout, as always, will be conducted during the spring and summer.

“We have a lot to learn and we’ll be going slowly this fall,” Alves said. “We’ll know a lot more next summer after we evaluate the removal operation and the spring population monitoring work.”

Blue Mesa Reservoir, located west of Gunnison, is a very productive fishery and the primary water for kokanee salmon production in the state. Production of kokanee salmon has always been the No. 1 priority for the fishery and will continue to be. The reservoir, however, is home to a growing population of lake trout — predator fish that are contributing to the decline in the kokanee population. Rainbow trout survival is also falling due to lake trout predation. At the same time, based on findings from annual netting surveys, the overall body condition of lake trout is declining because competition for food among the fish is increasing.

“We’re losing kokanee and we’re losing the potential for long-term production of trophy-sized lake trout,” Alves said. “The DOW’s strategy is aimed at maintaining a highly productive kokanee fishery, a good rainbow trout fishery and a viable trophy lake trout fishery. Without a strong population of kokanee salmon there is no possibility of growing lake trout to trophy size. There is room for all the species in the lake, but careful management is necessary.”

The situation at Blue Mesa is also a problem for 26 other lakes and reservoirs in Colorado that depend on stocked kokanee salmon raised from eggs produced at the reservoir. Blue Mesa provides about 60 percent of the eggs needed to stock 10 million kokanee fingerlings in the Colorado waters each year. Stocking of kokanee statewide will likely be reduced if the annual spawn take at Blue Mesa continues to decline. The value of kokanee fishing in Colorado is valued at $29 million annually.

Balancing the fishery at Blue Mesa Reservoir for the benefit of resident and non-resident anglers is the goal of the Colorado Division of Wildlife. To learn more about managing the fishery at this important Colorado fishing destination, go to the web page at: http://wildlife.state.co.us/Fishing.

For more information about Division of Wildlife go to: http://wildlife.state.co.us.

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Posted in Education, Hunting Fishing and the Great Outdoors, Local Politics Colorado, News | Comments Off on BLUE MESA FISHERY MANAGEMENT ISSUES

Udall and Bennet name Habas to short list for federal bench

July 4, 2009

Face the State (see sidebar) is one of my favorite blogs. Alright, it really is a mega blog but, that aside the good folks over there do some pretty decent work. What follows is something that I personally never would have thought would happen. Two ubber liberal Senators backing a person for a lifetime appointment as a federal judge that has, in the recent past just plain slammed a couple of things that the commies progressives succeeded in getting passed into law.Read on, and check out FTS!

July 2, 2009

Face the State Staff Report

U.S. Senators Mark Udall, D-Boulder, and Michael Bennet, D-Denver, have forwarded to Pres. Barack Obama their list of recommendations for two federal judicial vacancies in Colorado. Among the six names is Denver District Judge Christina Habas, known recently for her ruling that Ritter’s mill levy freeze amounted to an unconstitutional property tax increase.

Habas, a registered Democrat, has ruled in two high-profile state constitutional cases within the last two years. In the first, involving the Amendment 41 ban on gifts to elected officials over $50, a group of elected officials, government works and non-profits complained Amendment 41 limited their First Amendment rights. This led Habas to issue a preliminary injunction against the enforcement of Amendment 41.

In 2008, Habas ruled that the 2007 School Finance Act, which contained a provision that froze the state’s mill levy rates when they would otherwise adjust down, amounted to an unconstitutional tax increase. By freezing the mill levy rates, the legislation ensured that property tax revenue went up as property values increased.

In both cases, Habas’ decisions were overturned by the Colorado Supreme Court, dominated by liberal jurists.

Denver attorney Richard Westfall, who tried the mill levy case before Judge Habas, said she has a strong reputation as a fair attorney.

“I thought Judge Habas did a very good job in the mill levy property tax case and I don’t think the Colorado Supreme Court in any way explained why it reversed her,” said Westfall. “She has a reputation for really rolling up her sleeves and doing her job. She believes in following the law instead of advancing a political agenda.”

Also among the Senators recommendations were District Judges Morris Ben Hoffman, Richard Brooke Jackson and Lael Montgomery, along with William Martinez of McNamara, Roseman, Martinez & Kazmierski and John Walsh of Hill and Robbins. Westfall added that Walsh has a “strong reputation” and is a “very thoughtful person.”

Calls to Udall and Bennet’s offices for additional comment were not returned.

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Bill Ritter 180 sanity revisited?

July 3, 2009

What does it take to restore fiscal sanity when RINO’s and Democrats get a free hand with tax and spend policy? Colorado has over the past few years been somewhat protected by The Taxpayer Bill of Rights, more commonly known by the acronym TABOR. This past session of the legislature saw TABOR pretty much gutted. It also saw the advent of special interest legislation reaching new heights of recklessness. Not to even bother mentioning the use of “fees” to circumvent TABOR restrictions. Before leaving Colorado I briefly thought of using the initiative process to re-define the word taxation in that any charge by government at any level would be deemed a “tax.” That went nowhere. Now, the Colorado legislature, and the state of Colorado are also going nowhere. I have often had disagreements with Governor Bill Ritter about issues that span the entire realm of politics. Now, in a perfect example of broken clock economics the Governor like a broken clock that exhibits the correct time twice on a daily basis he get’s the correct answer.

Hat tip, and thanks to Senator Ted Harvey for this.

For Immediate Release                                         Contact: Ted Harvey
Ted@tedharvey.com

Bill Ritter 180


The day has come.  The numbers are in.  With only one week remaining in the 08/09 fiscal year, the Colorado budget is $250 million in the red.  Once again Governor Ritter and the Democrat legislative leadership misjudged the depth of our economic downturn.  Despite Republican warnings and objections during the last legislative session, the Democrats chose to approve the largest budget in state history.

At a time when small businesses were cutting budgets, reducing expenses, laying off staff or closing their doors altogether, the Democrat legislature grew the Colorado budget by 4% more than the previous year and hired 250 new employees.
While Colorado families were struggling through these tough economic times, the Democrats increased taxes and fees on all Coloradoans by $1 billion, raided the state’s trust funds and emergency reserves – and even tried unsuccessfully to seize $500 million in assets from the Pinnacol Assurance Company, Colorado’s largest provider of workers compensation insurance.  They also took advantage of their majority to remove the 6% spending cap that has controlled government growth for over three decades – a mechanism that has protected Colorado from the kind of out-of-control spending that has pushed states like California to the brink of bankruptcy.

Adding insult to injury, last month the Democrats handed out $30,000 in staff bonuses and spent nearly $4,000 in public funds on a “team-building” retreat.
The 2009 legislative session was a prime example of unchecked Democrat power on parade.

When actual revenues came in $250 million short of expectations, one would have expected Colorado taxpayers to receive an apology from the Governor and the Democrat leadership for their fiscal mismanagement.  Sadly, there were no apologies. Instead, taxpayers were treated to another serving of the Democrats’ brand of faith-based budgeting.

On the day the actual budget numbers came out, the Governor held a press conference explaining that the state would balance the $250 million shortfall by utilizing federal stimulus funding and pushing off payment of the state’s payroll from June 30 (the last day of 2008-2009 fiscal year), until July 1 (the first day of the new fiscal year).  Of course the only thing this did was add $250 million to the already anticipated $140 million shortfall for the new fiscal year-making the state $390 million in the hole from day one! This was simply Enron bookkeeping to avoid making the tough choices and leaving Colorado taxpayers to pick up the tab.
The Governor then rebuffed any media questions regarding an immediate special legislative session to balance our growing deficit.  He continued to insist that the problem could wait until the legislature reconvened in January.  Unfortunately, the Governor failed to admit that delaying for another six months until the start of the 2010 session would only magnify the impact any impending cuts would have on the state budget.

Sadly, the Democrat legislative response was no better.  The only suggestion from the Chairman of the Joint Budget Committee was to extend a property tax increase on senior citizens for another year, and remove tax credits from business owners.
The truth is, on the Day of Reckoning, when the actual budget numbers came out, our Colorado Democrat leadership revealed their true soul and proved once and for all that they were incapable of cutting even one government service or one state employee.

Predictably, the public was outraged.  The lack of Democrat leadership was undeniable.  Faced with an economic reality and voter rebellion, Governor Ritter quickly realized that it was time for government to tighten its belt.
On Thursday, only two days after his initial response, the Governor held another press conference…one that I have dubbed “Bill Ritter 180.”  Surprisingly, he announced what Republicans had been demanding for over two years, that he was directing each of his department heads to review their budgets and cut 10% across the board.  Hallelujah, the leader of our state finally showed leadership! And may God bless him for it. He may have just saved our great state from following California’s lead…straight off the cliff.
Indeed it has been our Republican legislators who have led the charge for fiscal sanity over the last 24 months while pushing for across-the-board cuts…but this week we must give credit to whom credit is due.  Bill Ritter has finally taken a stand and come out against many members of his own party.  Good for him and good for Colorado!
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For more information on Senator Ted Harvey please visit his website at www.tedharvey.com

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Posted in Economics, Editorial, Opinion, Education, Law, Local Politics Colorado, Men's Issues, News, Politics, Stupid is as Stupid Does, Wordpress Political Blogs | 1 Comment »

Obamacare leads to no where…

June 26, 2009

Amidst all the various sad stories being splashed across the Internet and airways having to do with the supposedly sad state of health care in America something  has gone by the wayside. That something is called freedom and liberty. The freedom to choose what sort of  coverage that you want, and the liberty to decide if you do,in fact, want or need any coverage at all.

Brought to you by our good friends at The Independence Institute in Golden, Colorado is a presentation addressing exactly this issue.

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Posted in Economics, Editorial, Opinion, Education, Law, Local Politics Colorado, News, Politics, Wordpress Political Blogs | 2 Comments »

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