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Labor Leader Twists Facts in Anti-Initiative Campaign

In today's Face the State report, at least one Colorado labor union leader is twisting numbers to recruit allies in their attack on a proposal that would "protect a worker’s right to choose whether or not to join or pay fees to a union as a condition of employment." This kind of statistical manipulation would make Media Matters proud. The rightness of Aurora city councilperson Ryan Frazier's cause is one thing, but the realities of deep union coffers suggest that passing a statewide Right-to-Work ballot initiative in 2008 figures to be an uphill battle. The question is whether defenders of freedom will let the truth become victimized in the political arena. I hope not. … [Read more...]

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Lesson in Journalistic Ethics for CSU Student Paper

The story of the juvenile, obscene editorial in the Colorado State University newspaper has prompted the Independence Institute's Jessica Corry and Ryan Olivett (a current CSU student) to fire back with a sharp reminder in journalistic ethics: Like a child howling in a candy store to get what he wants, the Collegian substituted a four letter word for genuine political discourse. All for attention. If only McSwane had stepped back for a moment to acknowledge not just his freedoms as an American—but also his ethical obligations as a newspaper editor. According to the code of ethics espoused by the Society of Professional Journalists, "gathering and reporting information may cause harm or discomfort," but this doesn't mean the "pursuit … [Read more...]

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Lt. Col (Rep.) Rice off to Iraq

Godspeed to Lt. Col. (and state representative) Joe Rice, who will be deployed to Baghdad for a three-month stint starting in October, as reported today in the Denver Post's Politics West: Rice, who has three young children, said he looks forward to getting the “feel of the street” in Baghdad. “Unless you are out there on the street, you just don’t get it,” he said. As an operations analyst, Rice will look for the best practices among reconstruction teams. He plans to spend a lot of time with the Iraqi police force. Rice, who has been in the Army for 23 years, said he didn’t think about asking for a special deployment exemption because he is a state lawmaker. I am honored to have met Rep. Rice in May 2006, before he … [Read more...]

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Boulder Student Socialists Demand “God”-less Pledge

Update 2 (move to top): Michelle Malkin has picked up the story: Diversity worship? Check. Enviro-worship? Check. “Choice?” The kind that Planned Parenthood supports, no doubt, and not educational vouchers, I’m sure. File under: Reason number 10,000,000 to homeschool your children. Couldn't have said it better myself. Though we're left to wonder why the word "comrade" was omitted from the Student Worker pledge. Update: The latest version of the Rocky story contains a photo from this morning with the student club's banner showing a large red star - an unmistakable symbol. It's sad, these kids seem to have no idea what great evil was done and human misery caused in service to this symbol. You can also read their absurd … [Read more...]

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10 Straight Wins – Go Rox!

Colorado baseball fans have stood up and taken notice at the amazing, unexpected run made by our Rockies down the regular season homestretch. Ten straight wins in September? Coming back from the brink to the thick of playoff contention? One game back in the wildcard with a chance to win the NL West Division? It's a feel-good story for a young ball club that is gelling a season sooner than this amateur pundit expected. Clutch hitting, quality starts and fine work from the bullpen have anchored this underdog team. Michael, a fan with a longer history of Rockies loyalty than myself (Colorado is my favorite National League squad, but all bets are off when they face my Detroit Tigers), has blogged his enthusiasm. Now I'm just waiting for … [Read more...]

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Udall Losing Respect for Sponsoring Silly Resolution

Michelle Malkin blasts away at the "phony" Congressional resolution attacking Rush Limbaugh: "Bottom-of-the-barrel desperation," she writes, with accumulated evidence to demonstrate that those Lefties hopping on the bandwagon should have used a little more discretion first. They are giving conservative officials a platform to make our case stronger, says Newsbusters. To her credit, Malkin also recognizes the lead role played by our own The Colorado Index in publishing the silly resolution sponsored by Boulder liberal U.S. Rep. Mark Udall. As noted earlier, the Left in Colorado also has assailed Udall as "an embarrassment" for this course of action. Following the lead of a Left-liberal faux "watchdog" to use Congressional time and … [Read more...]

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Rockies 9, Padres 8 (13 inn.)

One of the best baseball games I have ever seen. What a contest from start to finish. Controversy, comebacks, power, pitching, good defense, clutch hitting, and after an improbable ending, the Colorado Rockies are in the playoffs for the first time in 12 years. Un- be- lie- va- ble. And somewhere in it all, Matt Holliday secured a NL batting title (and maybe an MVP), Troy Tulowitzki all but locked up NL Rookie of the Year, and the Rockies broke a Major League team season record for fielding percentage. Closest to most fan's hearts, though, is the fact Todd Helton - the long-time face of the franchise - finally gets to punch a playoff ticket, a fitting tribute to his career. Seeing this city go baseball crazy in October does my heart … [Read more...]