WHEREAS, on June 2, 2010, at Comerica Park in Detroit, Michigan, Detroit Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga masterfully pitched a game against the Cleveland Indians in which he indisputably retired each of the first 26 batters he faced in succession with exactly 80 pitches thrown (62 strikes, 18 balls); and

WHEREAS, Tigers centerfielder Austin Jackson made a tremendous, over-the-shoulder running catch off Indians second baseman Mark Grudzielanek for the first out of the ninth inning; and

WHEREAS, with two outs in the top of the 9th inning, the 27th batter, Cleveland Indians shortstop Jason Donald, grounded the ball to Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera, who in turn flipped the ball to Galarraga, who clearly touched the bag with his foot before Donald did; and

WHEREAS, veteran first base umpire Jim Joyce incorrectly ruled the runner safe at first; and

WHEREAS, thousands of the paying customers at Comerica Park could see immediately that the umpire blew the call at first; and (more…)

That’s got to be how the Democratic trio of Governor Bill Ritter, Speaker Terrance Carroll, and House Finance Committee Chairman Joel Judd have to be feeling after knowing they accidentally turned one of their tax hike bills into a tax cut and therefore had to kill it. The majority party under the Golden Dome couldn’t let a pesky problem like that make it into the light of day.

You can’t make this stuff up, folks. Yet somehow it escaped even the watchful eye of the Denver Post‘s “The Spot” blog. Oh, well….

I hope you enjoy one or more of the following:

• David Freddoso at the Washington Examiner points out that Senate Democrats very quickly have killed President Obama’s very modest “spending freeze” proposal before it barely had a chance to get going.
• Speaking of Obama, my PPC friends are licking their chops at the prospect of The One coming to Denver to stump for our appointed junior U.S. Senator Michael Bennet.
• Speaking of arrogance, guest writer Don Rodgers at Reclaim the Blue calls out Democrats in our state legislature for their hubris, after shoving through four of the Dirty Dozen tax bills on Wednesday (and are scheduled to hear the rest starting this morning) as a prelude to their dying political majority.
• Speaking of death, the New Ledger‘s Benjamin Kerstein gives Howard Zinn, the very recently deceased Marxist historian of A People’s History infamy, a harsh critique more grounded in reality than the one Zinn gave to the United States to manufacture his own career.
• Speaking of harshness — yes, as Lynn Bartels blogs for the Denver Post‘s The Spot, the Independence Institute is having its own “Biggest Loser” weight-loss competition — no, I’m participating in the “Biggest Gainer” competition instead.

Have a great Friday!

Update, 9:00 PM: They fixed it. That’s responsive, same-day government service for you!

First of all, I have to commend to you the Secretary of State’s work in creating the new TRACER campaign finance website, which is a more user-friendly, valuable tool than its predecessor. On the lighter side, while it’s imperative for candidates and committees filling out important disclosures to cross their t’s and dot their i’s, someone should have checked on TRACER’s main page to ensure the same level of accuracy: (more…)

The 2010 survey of Colorado’s political temperature is in the books. A formal rollout of the top-line results is coming on Monday. But you can get a first glance throughout the evening as El Presidente highlights the raw results on People’s Press Collective.

Thanks to everyone who participated. With 714 participants, this is the most popular edition yet. Come back and make your voice heard again in February … Onward and upward for 2010!

Sometimes a look back into the recent past can help glean some important insights into the present. Such is the case with Colorado politics and the potential slate of candidates to replace Governor Bill Ritter as the 2010 Democratic nominee for the state’s chief executive. Do you remember a little over a year ago when so many Democrats were angling for now-lame duck Ritter’s appointment to the U.S. Senate?

Like liberal Denver Democrat Congresswoman Diana DeGette — who has a lifetime American Conservative Union rating of 3.64 out of 100, lower than Barack Obama. In December 2008 she told the Denver Post that mayor and prospective gubernatorial candidate John Hickenlooper is “probably at least as liberal as me”: (more…)

With time off work over the holiday, I decided to survey some newly-posted lists on the Web to get a sense of which Christmas movies are widely believed to be the best ever — with lists including (but not limited to) Moviefone, the Chicago Tribune, Saturday Evening Post, and the objectively-measured most loved Christmas movies list.

Using a not-so-highly scientific formula (and not necessarily my own personal preferences), the result is the 25 most highly rated Christmas movies: (more…)

Two days ’till Christmas — which apparently means it’s time to practice our jolly laughter. Huffington Post’s Sam Stein looks like he is auditioning to fill the local void left by the departure of Colorado Media Matters. What a doozy (H/T Complete Colorado):

Appearing at a recent coffee-shop event with Colorado voters, Norton sat silently while a female attendee declared twice that President Barack Obama is a Muslim and while a male attendee insisted that the president — who he deemed “an idiot” — wanted to let babies die on the side of the road “with the garbage.”

“Well as you can tell there is a lot of passion around what is happening in our own country,” Norton responded to the crowd, rather than correcting either individual. “And how we can channel that into positive constructive ways that will get our vote out it is going to be absolutely critical.”

Also at the event, Norton praised the “tea-party movement and the 9/12 groups” for pushing a right-wing populist, anti-Washington agenda….

Whoa. Scandalous… Not. Doesn’t the whole HuffPo piece remind you of CMM’s infamous “Talk show host allowed guest to say…” headlines filled with vastly more breathless prose than substance or logic? (more…)

Yes, me and Schroeder both…

In honor of the great Ludwig von Beethoven‘s 239th birthday, why not pop in a CD or MP3 and take in one of his symphonies: maybe the overlooked 1st, the mighty 3rd, the classic 5th, the serene 6th, the passionate 7th … or if you have a lot of time on your hands, the transcendent 9th?

Blasts from the past:
- Happy Birthday, Ludwig (2004) … in case you want to know why Beethoven is such a big deal
- 2nd Annual Beethoven’s Birthday Blog (2005) … including the famous Lucy / Schroeder exchange
- Happy Chanukah / Beethoven’s Birthday (2006) … with a few interesting ideas for musical blends

And I thought I was anal. (H/T Betsy’s Page)

Now if someone could help with the AP’s whole ideologically-driven, selectively sloppy investigation problem.

Ever the libertarian wit, Denver Post columnist David Harsanyi highlights some “lessons in capitalism” based on a new USA Today investigation that finds safer meat at your local fast-food restaurant than in the government’s National School Lunch Program for poorer students.

“Doesn’t the USDA care about the children?” Harsanyi asks with more than a hint of sarcasm.

Seeing his thoughts in writing made me think: Perhaps we should be giving poorer students vouchers to buy Happy Meals for school lunches? I don’t know about the value of such an idea as a practical policy prescription. However, the mere fact I’m bringing it up might make some heads spin in the USDA office on the floor below the Independence Institute where I work.

Let’s see if anyone comes storming upstairs after this is posted ….

Education News Colorado editor Alan Gottlieb offers up a laugh about the new Denver Public Schools board calling in a therapist to help everyone get along. In case you haven’t heard, it was all brought on by some low-class politics at Monday’s board meeting (H/T Ed Is Watching):

As board member Michelle Moss walked up to take her seat for what was to be her last meeting in eight years representing southwest Denver, her newly elected replacement Andrea Merida told her that she would be sitting on the dais instead.

Merida, rather than waiting to take the oath of office with two other new members after the meeting, had instead been sworn in hours earlier so she could cast a vote on the controversial reforms.

A shocked Moss reacted with tears and anger. (more…)

Climategate deniers, unready to admit that the emperor has come undressed before their eyes, are aptly parodied in a YouTube video that’s worth the 3 minutes of sheer amusement: (more…)

No politics today, nothing that juicy or intriguing to break the fast on the eve of Thanksgiving. If you’re bored over the holiday and looking for some amusing reading — especially if you’re looking to stage a new play or produce a new movie — then check out the two-act script I completed earlier this year titled Al Gansee: The Shot Heard ‘Round Cambria.

The synopsis will give you the flavor:

In the early 1960s, a tiny Midwestern farm community has been transformed into a Marxist workers’ paradise upon the return of a charismatic native son and his Russian KGB companion. Now leading a Socialist Union that bears his name, Chief Comrade Al Gansee confronts the desire for territorial expansion and transmission of his ideals. Gansee, his wife Mary Beth, his KGB “left-hand man”, a 10-year-old Amish pyromaniac girl and the rest of the eccentric band of modern-day utopians march off to the Battle of Cambria and an infamous gunshot that promises to transform the lives of its participants and the once sleepy community for years to come.

So without further ado, here is Al Gansee: The Shot Heard ‘Round Cambria in its entirety (as always, for easy reading, click “Fullscreen” to begin): (more…)

So some Colorado GOP leaders have crafted a Prosperity Platform and rallied behind Scott McInnis as the gubernatorial candidate.

Meanwhile, some in the grassroots remain thoroughly unconvinced and stand behind hard-working longshot Dan Maes. The issue is not the rhetoric or the substance of the 20 governing principles that has earned skepticism or even ire. It’s some of the cast of characters involved that many understandably still have a hard time trusting. I’m not all the way there yet myself.

What might help make the Prosperity Platform more palatable is an escape clause — and by that I mean not for McInnis, but for us. So the issue is an agreement to fulfill the 20 principles. What happens if he is elected and then reneges, works actively against one of the 20, or simply delays any serious effort to implement one or more particular actions? What then? Where does that leave the grassroots who are expected to work hard on his behalf? (more…)

This was forwarded to me a little while ago. Someone named Kathy from Evergreen apparently (and doubtless with good reason) is not happy with the responsiveness of Congress to her concerns about Obama Care and a rapidly growing and spending federal government.

She took a mechanical form letter from Colorado Democrat U.S. Senator Mark Udall’s office and interjected her own thoughts in italics. I gathered a screenshot and pasted it below (click “fullscreen” and use the “Zoom” for greater reading ease): (more…)

Last Saturday I reported that thousands of Colorado state employees who never signed up to join a union were barraged with membership cards from the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) — one of the union partners in the “Colorado WINS” coalition brought to life by Governor Bill Ritter’s 2007 executive order.

Well, apparently, AFSCME somehow reversed their membership and non-membership lists, and in the process annoyed a lot of state workers and wasted tons of paper. As to where they found the home addresses, the State of Colorado says it didn’t hand them out. And I guess AFSCME isn’t telling.

Click the play button below (or follow this link) to hear a 10-minute podcast as state employee and “The Biggest Loser” Dave Ohmart explains what went down, as well as how Colorado WINS has been working to make itself at home in state government and what may be on tap for its 2010 legislative agenda:

Read a state official’s explanation on the Colorado Loses website.

Because I’m finally getting around to putting out a press release (below the fold) with the important details — click on “Fullscreen” for easy readability: (more…)

From the creative talents of my friend El Presidente, posted first at People’s Press Collective, one of the best Obama videos produced yet: (more…)

It’s Friday morning. I’m busy. No bizarro Balloon Boy coverage here. You’ll have to look somewhere else (H/T Complete Colorado).