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...]
Carroll: Colorado NOT Near Bottom in Education Funding
Colorado's public school establishment has gradually been losing its grip on the education monopoly, and it's also been losing its grip on the funding statistics monopoly. No need to retread old roads, but kudos once again to the Rocky Mountain News' Vincent Carroll for reminding readers that Colorado does not rank near the bottom of K-12 school funding but near the middle: [Denver superintendent Michael] Bennet is right that Coloradans don’t spend lavishly on education, comparatively speaking. But we haven’t exactly been Scrooges, either. For those dying to know more, check out my 2006 Independence Institute report "Counting the Cash." … [Read more...]
Denver Post: Udall out of Step with “Western Values”
A scathing editorial in yesterday's Denver Post calls out Colorado Democrats for bowing to Big Labor with their support of HR 800, the poorly-named Employee Free Choice Act (read here, here and here). Though all Democrats in the state's delegation voted for the bad legislation, the Post specifically singled out bill co-sponsor Boulder liberal Mark Udall - the man who would be U.S. Senator- first for his anti-business agenda: The proposal, which passed the House with support from Rep. Mark Udall, contained an offensive and little-known provision that would have allowed a government arbitrator to impose a two-year contract on businesses and workers that actually specified wages and working conditions. Neither the employer nor the workers … [Read more...]
Big Labor Payback: Democrats’ Idea of Fiscal Responsibility
If you hear Democrats next year on the campaign trail touting Congress for a fiscally conservative record of cutting a government program, keep in mind which program it was: The new Democratic Congress has finally found a government agency whose budget It wants to cut: an obscure Labor Department office that monitors the compliance of unions with federal law. In the past six years, the Office of Labor Management Standards, or OLMS, has helped secure the convictions of 775 corrupt union officials and court-ordered restitution to union members of over $70 million in dues. The House is set to vote Thursday on a proposal to chop 20% from the OLMS budget. Every other Labor Department enforcement agency is due for a budget increase, and … [Read more...]
“We’re All 49th”: Colorado TABOR-Bashing, Northwest Style
It seems like whenever another state proposes a taxpayer-friendly ballot measure, the big government crowd turns up the scare factor by looking at Colorado and dredging up the same discredited and refuted statistics [PDF - full disclosure: I am the author of the linked Independence Institute publication]. The latest round comes from Washington State, where proponents are pushing Initiative 960 to require lawmakers to reach a supermajority or receive voter consent in order to raise taxes. Admittedly, I don't know a lot about the measure itself, though it sounds like a fine idea on its face. What has me convinced that Washington State likely would benefit from the proposal is the fact that leading opponents have dug into the well of … [Read more...]
Stop the Fairness Doctrine
In case you've missed it, please take a minute to sign the National Republican Senatorial Committee's petition to stop the proposed censorship of restoring the Fairness Doctrine. This is an issue of free speech that should garner support from Left and Right. Also, bookmark N.Z. Bear's Fairness Doctrine Watch for the latest on the topic. Just doing my two cents' worth to stand up for the First Amendment on this issue. … [Read more...]
Roan Plateau & Dem Priorities
No time for lengthy posts this morning, but quick links on an important timely topic. Echoing Colorado Senate News, Michael at Best Destiny points out the momentum growing for a Republican-sponsored plan to use revenues from drilling on the Western Slope's Roan Plateau to provide a windfall to the state's universities. Michael points out how out of touch Colorado's junior Senator and would-be senator on the Democrat side happen to be on this issue. Meanwhile, Democrat Gov. Bill Ritter, who has made higher education funding one of his leading planks, has stalled and hesitated on the opportunity to support the drilling. But wait, as Michael points out, even the Denver Post says it should go forward soon. Maybe the majority Democrats are … [Read more...]
Merrifield: Math & Science Mandates Are So Last Millennium
Yesterday the Colorado Commission on Higher Education (CCHE) raised admission standards for the state's public colleges and universities, effective in 2010. The final set of standards is less rigorous than originally planned, with no increase in the one-year foreign language requirement and the allowance of a watered-down math course to fulfill the requirement. Still, some weren't satisfied - among them one who believes charter school supporters have a "special" reservation in the torrid nether regions. From 9News: Other opponents worry that creating more emphasis on taking math and science will stifle student creativity. State Representative Mike Merrifield, who is also the chairman of the House Education Committee, told the … [Read more...]
Discrediting Ritter’s Top-Heavy Health Care Reform Proposals
To its credit, the Rocky Mountain News editorial board utterly discredited one of four health-care reform proposals made by Gov. Bill Ritter's 208 Commission. The Rocky picked off the bad, low-hanging fruit of a single-payer, government-run proposal. But the other three plans are only less bad and more palatable by small degrees. If you wish to learn more about the deficiencies in these proposals, the dangers revealed in other experiences with socialized medicine, and the campaign for a pro-freedom, consumer-friendly reform to our health care system, then you have to bookmark the blog We Stand Firm by Dr. Paul and Diana Hsieh, Lin Zinser, and Ari Armstrong. For compelling visual media that makes the same case, please also visit filmmaker … [Read more...]
Ritter Balks at Institute Examining Case for Tax Increase
Good news: the Independence Institute (where I work) unveiled its strategy today to sue the state for imposing a property tax increase without a vote of the people: Jon Caldara, president of the Independence Institute in Golden, also promised to sue the state, claiming that freezing school districts' tax rates is a tax policy change that requires statewide voter approval. "There will definitely be a lawsuit," Caldara said at a news conference at the Capitol. "No question about it." Caldara brought a stack of letters - more than 170 for school districts and 64 for county clerk and recorders - that he plans to send requesting records related to previous school district votes waiving revenue limits. A press release from House … [Read more...]
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