Posts Tagged ‘I2I’

Mothers Against Debt (MAD)

May 17, 2010

A Message from Mothers Against Debt (MAD): From Transparency Czarina Amy Oliver,

This what we have done to our children with our reckless spending and massive national debt. Sadly this video is already out of date. Since this video was made, our national debt has climbed another $1700.

Please share this wonderful, but frightening video with as many people as you know. It’s about time we start talking about the massive amount of crippling debt we are enslaving our children and grandchildren with.

Don’t Be Like California (Or Greece): Writing about the fairly frightening similarities between Greece and California over at Reason Online, Tim Cavanaugh asks, “What do Europe’s most bankrupt nation-state and America’s most bankrupt united state have in common, aside from being bankrupt?”

Good question. Cavanaugh continues:

…it turns out that Greece, that sun-drenched paradise on the Aegean, and California, that sun-warmed El Dorado on the Pacific, are the worst places to do business in their respective economic zones.”

So how did California come to resemble a fiscally-wrecked European social-welfare state that needs a massive bailout? Independence Institute Senior Fellow Barry Poulson gave a heads up last year in the Denver Post

:

The Golden State’s GANN Amendment, a precursor of TABOR, limited the growth of state revenue and spending to the sum of inflation and population growth. In the late 1980s, the California legislature abandoned the GANN Amendment. As a result, state spending in California increased more rapidly than personal income and taxes were increased to one of the highest levels in the country. Business investment and jobs left the state for other states with better tax climates.

The moral of the story is of course, don’t be like California.

RSVP’s Welcome for the 8th Annual ATF Party! Registration for the most politically incorrect event of the year is now open – this year’s Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms party! The event is set for Saturday, July 17th at the swank Kiowa Creek Sporting Club. This year’s guest speaker is the brilliant and always straight shooting editor-in-chief at Reason Magazine, Nick Gillespie. Come on out and drink, smoke, and shoot with us… while it’s still legal! RSVP here online or call us at 303.279.6536.

What Fresh Obama Care Hell Is This? So here’s a nasty little surprise from deep in the bowels of Obama Care:

Section 9006 of the health care bill — just a few lines buried in the 2,409-page document — mandates that beginning in 2012 all companies will have to issue 1099 tax forms not just to contract workers but to any individual or corporation from which they buy more than $600 in goods or services in a tax year. The stealth change radically alters the nature of 1099s and means businesses will have to issue millions of new tax documents each year.

It’s things like this that help explain Nancy Pelosi’s motivation when she said, “But we have to pass the bill so you can find out what is in it, away from the fog of the controversy.” Look for more unbelievably bad tidbits to emerge now that the “fog of controversy” has been lifted from the Obama Care bill.

Free People, Free Markets – the Tuesday Night edition: Many of you asked for a Principles of Liberty course to take place on a weeknight, instead of on Saturdays. You also asked that we hold the class somewhere in the south metro area, instead of here at the Independence Institute offices in Golden. Well, you’re in luck! The Spring Free People, Free Markets classes will be held on 5 consecutive Tuesdays at 6:30pm, starting May 18th, down in the Denver Tech Center. Classes will be at the Colorado Contractors Association building at the intersection of I-25 and Arapahoe Road (map). For more information, click here for the official class flyer.

Again, that’s five consecutive Tuesdays, May 18th to June 15th from 6:30 to 9:30 in the Denver Tech Center. Call us at 303.279.6536 to RSVP!

Must See TV: A higher education marks an important chapter in one’s life, but what happens when this chapter is being distorted by a demonstrable lack of intellectual diversity and debate? Author Robert Maranto joins me to discuss a number of the problems, the scope, and reforms for higher education that are in his new book The Politically Correct University. Jessica Peck-Cory of Independence Institute steps up to discuss some of the issues surrounding the civic direction of CU at Boulder. Don’t miss this important discussion on the issues of higher ed this Friday night at 8:30PM on KBDI Channel 12; repeated the following Tuesday evening at 5PM.

Must hear podcast: Is there anything that reasonably can be done to change the overwhelming Left-leaning bias of faculties at American colleges? Lead editor of the new insightful volume The Politically Correct University, University of Arkansas Department of Education Reform professor Bob Maranto discusses the problem and possible solutions with Education Policy Center analyst Ben DeGrow.

Perspective: In this week’s op-ed, health care policy analyst Brian Schwartz questions your “compassionate” politics. Brian wonders when it became compassionate to take other people’s money away and give it to charity, rather than your own. Forced charity is not really charity.

Until next week…

Straight on

Jon Caldara

www.independenceinstitute.org

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

What’s that Smell?

December 23, 2009

Dave Kopel’s latest newsletter (see the link on the blog roll) unloads yet again with logic and reason. Bits and snips, with links below.

To subscribe to this free e-mail newsletter, please send a request to:
kopelnewsletter@liberty.seanet.com

Aiming for Liberty

David Kopel
Merril Press
December 4, 2009
http://www.amazon.com/Aiming-LIberty-Present-Freedom-Self-Defense/dp/0936783583/davekopel-20/
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Aiming-for-Liberty/David-B-Kopel/e/9780936783581/?itm=2

Videocast on Aiming for Liberty

Dave Kopel with Jon Caldara
Independent Thinking, KBPI 12, Denver
November 27, 2009
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=EB5652D760AC2EAB
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XaJgIjxmFdQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mymokhfqhJk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ud36zktV3F8
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=EB5652D760AC2EAB

Dave and Independence Institute President and program host Jon Caldara discuss his new book on this KBPI television broadcast, now available on YouTube. Part 1 is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XaJgIjxmFdQ, Part 2, here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mymokhfqhJk and Part 3, here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ud36zktV3F8. The playlist with all three is here: http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=EB5652D760AC2EAB

New Law Review Articles by Kopel

The Right to Arms in the Living Constitution

David B. Kopel
Cardozo Law Review de Novo, Forthcoming; U. Denver Legal Studies Research Paper No. 09-34
December 17, 2009
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1524103

“This Article presents a brief history of the Second Amendment as part of the living Constitution. From the Early Republic through the present, the American public has always understood the Second Amendment as guaranteeing a right to own firearms for self-defense. That view has been in accordance with �lite legal opinion, except for a period in part of the twentieth century.”

The Keystone of the Second Amendment: Quakers, the Pennsylvania Constitution, and the Questionable Scholarship of Nathan Kozuskanich

David B. Kopel with Clayton E. Cramer
Widener Law Journal, Vol. 19, 2010, forthcoming
December 19, 2009
http://ssrn.com/abstract=1502925

Kopel and Cramer examine the historical underpinnings of historian Nathan Kozuskanich’s claim that the right to arms in the 1776 Pennsylvania constitution only guaranteed a right to serve in the commonwealth’s militia.

Kopel on the Health Bill

Health Bill and Gun Ownership

David Kopel
The Volokh Conspiracy
November 24, 2009
http://volokh.com/2009/11/24/health-bill-and-gun-ownership/

Dave responds to a putative rebutal of his concerns that the Government’s expanded role in health care may lead to ‘wellness programs’ that preclude firearms ownership.

Is the Senate health plan anti-gun?

Susan Ferrechio
The Washington Examiner
November 24, 2009
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/politics/71875287.html

Ferrechio’s article includes Dave’s concern that a government putting itself in charge of people’s health may decides that habits such as firearms ownership are prohibitively expensive.

What’s that Smell?

Dave Kopel
America’s 1st Freedom
December, 2009
http://davekopel.org/2A/Mags/ACORN.htm

“Nearly everyone has heard of the corruption-plagued organization ACORN. Yet many gun owners are unaware of the organization’s strong anti-gun activities and ties.”

Missouri Court Upholds Statute Against Gun Possession While Intoxicated

David Kopel
The Volokh Conspiracy
November 20, 2009
http://volokh.com/2009/11/20/missouri-court-uphelds-statute-against-gun-possession-while-intoxicated/

“In the 1979 case People v. Garcia, the Supreme Court of Colorado dealt with a similar statute. The ruled that the statute only applied to ‘actual or physical control.’ So if a person is drunk in his living room, and owns a gun which is stored in his downstairs closet, the statute would not apply. The Missouri decision is consistent with the Colorado standard, since Richard actually was possessing the handgun.”

Bloggingheads TV on Moses as the essential American hero

David Kopel
The Volokh Conspiracy
November 10, 2009
http://tinyurl.com/ybn3ton

Dave here agrees with Bruce Feiler’s argument, in an interview on Robert Wright’s BloggingHeadsTV, that Moses is a figure of great interest as an exemplar to some of America’s most influential leaders.

United States v. Skoien

United States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit
November 18, 2009
http://www.ca7.uscourts.gov/tmp/TL1FFWAJ.pdf
PDF files require Adobe Acrobat Reader or similar software.

The decision refers to Dave’s work on Heller on p.7, note 2.

Another Good Night for the Second Amendment

David Kopel
The Volokh Conspiracy
November 4, 2009
http://volokh.com/2009/11/04/another-good-night-for-the-second-amendment/

“In sum: A bad night for advocates of gun show restrictions. Another fine night (as were election nights 2006 and 2008) for Democrats with A ratings from NRA. And good news for Second Amendment advocates in blue New Jersey and purple Virginia.”

Will the Arms Trade Treaty Provide Effective Embargos on Human Rights Violators?

David Kopel
The Volokh Conspiracy
November 2, 2009
http://volokh.com/2009/11/02/will-the-arms-trade-treaty-provide-effective-embargos-on-human-rights-violators/

“Thus, the ATT might, at most, lead to more nominal embargos of arms; but nothing in an ATT can have greater force in international law than a Security Council order already does. Accordingly, the ATT will be of little or no use in achieving its purported objective. To the contrary, the ATT may be positively harmful, since it will probably declare a ‘right’ of governments to acquire arms. This ‘right’ could be used to claim that arms embargos outside the ATT system (e.g., unilateral embargos by the US, or the EU) are violations of international law.”

The Most Important Right to Arms Vote of 2009

David Kopel
The Volokh Conspiracy
November 4, 2009
http://volokh.com/2009/11/04/the-most-important-right-to-arms-vote-of-2009/

“Repeal of the Canadian registry would, accordingly, be of tremendous global significance. Repeal would also shatter the claim by the Canadian gun prohibition lobby that gun control in Canada is an irreversible ratchet.”

Kopel on McDonald v. Chicago

The Kopel Amicus Brief

Brief Summary of the Kopel Brief

David B. Kopel
The Volokh Conspiracy
November 23, 2009
http://volokh.com/2009/11/23/kopel-brief-in-mcdonald-v-chicago/

Here is a brief summary of the complete amicus brief, linked below, that Dave has written for the case of McDonald v. Chicago

Amicus Brief in McDonald v. Chicago: On Behalf of the International Law Enforcement Educators and Trainers Association, Et Al.

David B. Kopel
Independence Institute; Denver University, Sturm College of Law
November 22, 2009
http://ssrn.com/abstract=1511425

Here is a link to the full text of Dave’s brief on this important post-Heller case.

McDonald v. Chicago

Dave Kopel with Jon Caldara
Dave Kopel’s Second Amendment Podcast
December 1, 2009
http://audio.ivoices.org/mp3/iipodcast353.mp3

Kopel and Caldara discuss Dave’s completed amicus brief and the importance of this case.

JoshCasts: Interview with Dave Kopel on McDonald v. Chicago

Dave Kopel with Josh Blackman
Josh Blackman’s Blog
November 23, 2009
http://joshblackman.com/blog/?p=2540

Here’s a podcast in which Law Clerk and Blogger-Tweeter Josh Blackman interviews Dave about the McDonald v. Chicago brief.

Dave’s Blogging on the Other Briefs in McDonald v. Chicago

Congressional brief in McDonald v. Chicago

David Kopel
The Volokh Conspiracy
November 23, 2009
http://volokh.com/2009/11/23/congressional-brief-in-mcdonald-v-chicago/

Here is Dave’s reaction to the Congressional brief filed in the McDonald case. “Counsel of Record is former Solicitor General Paul D. Clement. Much of the brief recapitulates the lengthy historical record of congressional action (including but not limited to Reconstruction) to protect the individual right to arms from federal or state infringement.”

Academics for the Second Amendment brief in McDonald

David Kopel
The Volokh Conspiracy
November 23, 2009
http://volokh.com/2009/11/23/academics-for-the-second-amendment-brief-in-mcdonald/

“Well before Reconstruction, the Second Amendment was considered to be mainly a guarantee of a right to own and carry guns for personal protection. Back in 1998, I wrote a hundred-page article, The Second Amendment in the Nineteenth Century, 1998 BYU Law Review 1359, which focused mainly on cases and treatises. Olson/Hardy/Cramer have gone further, and brought forward extensive evidence about the understanding of the public and of elected public officials.”

McDonald amicus: Don’t trust Fairman and Berger

David Kopel
The Volokh Conspiracy
November 23, 2009
http://volokh.com/2009/11/23/mcdonald-amicus-dont-trust-fairman-and-berger/

“Erik S. Jaffe has written a very interesting brief for the CalGuns Foundation. In short, the argument is: ‘Charles Fairman’s and Raoul Berger’s Work on Fourteenth Amendment Incorporation of the Bill of Rights Is Deeply Flawed, Inaccurate, and Should Not Be Relied Upon by this Court.’ ”

Cato brief in McDonald v. Chicago

David Kopel
The Volokh Conspiracy
November 23, 2009
http://volokh.com/2009/11/23/cato-brief-in-mcdonald-v-chicago/

“An outstanding brief, as one might expect. The bulk of the brief (21 pages, comprising Part I) shows that from the Founding Era into through the framing of the Fourteenth Amendment, national citizenship was paramount to state citizenship. Part II briefly argues that Slaughterhouse violated canons of constitutional construction such as by interpreting the Privileges or Immunities Clause to make it nothing more than a reiteration of the Supremacy Clause.”

Institute for Justice brief in McDonald v. Chicago

David Kopel
The Volokh Conspiracy
November 23, 2009
http://volokh.com/2009/11/23/institute-for-justice-brief-in-mcdonald-v-chicago/

“The most important part of the brief is Part III, which begins: ‘To enslave a class of people requires three basic things: destroy their self-sufficiency, prevent them from fighting back, and silence any opposition.’ The brief then goes on to argue that the the Court should resist suggestions that it hold that the Privileges or Immunities clause makes the first eight amendments applicable against the states, but does nothing else.”

McDonald amicus briefs: Academics, Congress Redux, and California District Attorneys

David Kopel
The Volokh Conspiracy
November 25, 2009
http://volokh.com/2009/11/25/mcdonald-amicus-briefs-academics-and-congress-redux/

“The new Kates-Ayers brief begins with a survey of the 17th-18th century philosophical view, with which the American Founders agreed, that self-defense was among the most fundamental of all rights, that it was also a duty, and that the right necessarily implied the right to use arms in self-defense.”

Privileges or Immunities Extravaganza

David Kopel
The Volokh Conspiracy
December 21, 2009
http://volokh.com/2009/12/21/privileges-or-immunities-extravaganza/

“The Question Presented by the Court asked if the bans should be considered unconstitutional under the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process clause, or under the Privileges or Immunities clause. There’s been plenty of interesting scholarship recently on Privileges or Immunities. Here’s a guide to some of the most important articles.”

More of Dave’s Podcasts on the Case

Interview with Alan Gura

Dave Kopel with Alan Gura
Dave Kopel’s Second Amendment Podcast
December 7, 2009
http://audio.ivoices.org/mp3/iipodcast358.mp3

Here is Dave’s lengthy (50 minutes) interview with Alan Gura, the lead attorney in the Heller case, now involved in McDonald v. Chicago.

McDonald v. Chicago: Is the 2nd Amendment Incorporated in the 14th Amendment? An Explanation of the Basic Constitutional Issues in the Case.

Dave Kopel with Jon Caldara
Dave Kopel’s Second Amendment Podcast
December 7, 2009
http://audio.ivoices.org/mp3/iipodcast349.mp3

Dave and Jon Caldara discuss Dave’s early work on his amicus brief, and the issues and precedents at stake in McDonald v. Chicago.

Stephen Halbrook Christmas Special.

Dave Kopel with Stephen Halbrook
Dave Kopel’s Second Amendment Podcast
December 17, 2009
http://audio.ivoices.org/mp3/iipodcast362.mp3

Kopel interviews Stephen Halbrook, the leading legal defender of the Second Amendment over the last three decades. 53 minutes.

More available at the sidebar link!

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Posted in Editorial, Opinion, Education, Gun Control, Hoplophobia, Law, News, Politics, Wordpress Political Blogs | 1 Comment »

Jon, the baptist…

December 10, 2009

Okay,the debate rages on… is,  Jon Caldara the new John the Baptist? I would contend that, in fact, he is not! Jon, after all does double bend overs that incite lust among the female staff at The Independence Institute!

Read on…




Beware! Evil Lurks in Teachers Refunds: Those of us who are not bleeding heart, emotional hippies are used to being called names: selfish, mean spirited, malicious, greedy and sometimes even, Jon Caldara. So it comes as no surprise that the Denver Classroom Teachers Association (DCTA) president calls us “sinister” in a recent letter to his members. An excerpt from the letter,

“Dear DCTA member, BEWARE: You may have gotten a letter from the Independence Institute explaining how you can drop your Every Member Option (EMO) contribution to DCTA/CEA. It reads like a public service message telling you how to save money. But the motives behind the message are much more sinister.”

Well, I’m sorry unions. I’m a sinister kind of guy. therefore I am going to provide some resources to the teachers of Colorado, so that they might learn how to obtain the EMO refund, which can be up to $63. Along with our Independent Teachers website that houses a boatload of information on the refund, we made a video and recorded a podcast discussing the finer points of the refund. I think we’ve taken sinister to a whole new level.

Second Amendment Royalty on iVoices.org: Wow, I’m still in awe. I just finished listening to this epic iVoices.org podcast with Dave Kopel interviewing none other than Alan Gura himself! Or as Dave refers to Mr. Gura, “the Luke Skywalker of the Second Amendment.” Gura is the man behind the DC v. Heller Supreme court gun rights victory. Now Mr. Gura is taking on the new McDonald v. Chicago Supreme Court case. This case will decide whether the Second Amendment is enforceable at the state and local level via the 14th Amendment. In other words, this case is hugely important! Give a listen here.

Northern Colorado Invasion: Our transparency super-star Amy Oliver-Cooke is leading the invasion of Northern Colorado in the battle of ideas. Check her out this week in the Fort Collins Coloradoan as she lays out the “unimaginative failure” of Colorado’s Long Term Fiscal Stability commission.

Kopelization: If you support the Second Amendment and the right of self-defense, then you definitely don’t want to miss Research Director Dave Kopel’s newest book, Aiming for Liberty: The past, present and future of freedom and self-defense. The perfect stocking stuffer for the true civil libertarian.

Oh Canada: Our recent trip to Canada in search of real people with real stories of Canada’s version of Obama Care inspired this reason.tv video on Obama Care and medical innovation, with a special shout out to us. Well, the good folks at reason have put out yet another video including footage shot at our Canada trip. Check out this heartbreaking story of Canadian citizen Cheryl Baxter’s nightmare experience with Canada’s single payer health care system, and how she finally got the surgery she needed here in the states. It also includes some great insight from our friends up north at the Fraser Institute.

Must Hear Podcast: The transition for the Denver school board was going to be tough enough, but then newly elected Andrea Merida took things to a whole new level when she decided to be sworn in early and bounced off outgoing board member Michelle Moss just before key votes on the district’s reform plan were made. Over at iVoices.org, Education News Colorado editor, and eye witness, Alan Gottlieb joins Ben DeGrow to recount the dramatic confrontation and discusses what might be in store from the DPS Board in the future.

Check it out here.

Must See TV: On This week’s Independent Thinking, Colorado State Senator Ted Harvey and Kevin Miller from the National Freedom Initiative join me to talk about the conflict between social conservatives and the freedom movement, or as Kevin puts it, “Freedom nationally, virtue locally.” Tune in this Friday night at 8:30 p.m. to KBDI Channel 12; repeated the following Monday afternoon at 1:30 p.m.

Perspective: In this week’s op-ed, Jessica Peck-Corry suggests that Governor Ritter “should write a guidebook on how to buy a top post in his administration.” She’s talking about the Governor’s Energy Office.

Money quote from the piece: “Ritter’s defenders may believe that global warming represents a universal concern that should be held above the political fray. But talk to the residents of western Colorado, many of whom are out-of-work energy workers displaced by the toxic mix of a faltering economy and anti-energy public policy.”

Check out the whole thing here.

Until next week…

Straight on

Jon Caldara

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Posted in Economics, Editorial, Opinion, Education, Gun Control, Law, Local Politics Colorado, News, Politics, Wordpress Political Blogs | Comments Off on Jon, the baptist…