Are you looking for a good summertime fiction read? A fresh story in the fantasy/action genre that is simultaneously fast-paced and in-depth? Then I urge you to buy a copy of The Way of Shadows, the first in the Night Angel trilogy by Brent Weeks. I love to read, but the fantasy/action genre -- nor fiction in general -- is typically not my cup of tea. Then again seldom do I know the author personally, as in this case. Brent and I went to Hillsdale College together, are fellow Sinfonians. Having that sort of a personal connection with the author made it easy to pick up the book. But once I did, the crisp and colorful storytelling, the unpredictable plot, and the compelling characters were what kept the pages and chapters quickly … [Read more...]
A Critical Mass Awake to the Destructive Effects of Obama’s “Stimulus”?
Remember all the pomp and circumstance of four months ago when President Barack Obama flew out here to Denver to sign the "stimulus" bill? The legislation that had to be rushed through? The legislation that was supposed to prevent "irreversible decline" in our economy? While anyone with decent sense knew the "stimulus" was long-term poison, I can't say I anticipated how badly it would flounder even in the short-term. The Competitive Enterprise Institute's Hans Bader put together a well-documented Open Market blog post noting that public opinion clearly favors canceling the $787 billion spending spree. How many of them have watched this unforgettable video? A few days ago, Mr. Bob posted up the now well-circulated graphic showing … [Read more...]
More Bad Unintended Consequences from Media Swine Flu Hysteria?
So some of y'all must be thinkin' ... Whatever happened to that thar' swine flu thing? Apparently, the World Health Organization is set to issue an alert for a "level 6 pandemic" -- the first such designation in 40 years. Before you start stampeding through the streets in panic, take note:The declaration of a global epidemic was expected Thursday as WHO officials huddled in an emergency session in Geneva in the wake of 141 swine flu deaths worldwide, including 12 in New York City.... If WHO moves from level 5 to level 6 on its pandemic alert scale, it would be the first flu pandemic declared since the Hong Kong flu killed an estimated 1 million people in 1968. On Wednesday, WHO reported 27,737 cases worldwide, most of them mild and … [Read more...]
Calling All Colorado Congressmen to Back Federal Reserve Transparency
Update, 6/11, 10:30 AM: Impressively, HR 1207 now has 208 Congressional co-sponsors. But only two from Colorado: Republican Doug Lamborn and Democrat Ed Perlmutter. Open government is an important non-partisan issue. I recently brought readers' attention to the need to persuade Republican Congressman Mike Coffman to sign on in support of transparency for the nation's Federal Reserve bank. It's good to see Face The State join the cause and raise the stakes by urging members of Colorado's delegation across the political spectrum to back HR 1207. … [Read more...]
RMA Blog Talk Radio Tonight at 8:30: Dan Maes and More
Tune in tonight at 8:30 PM local Mountain time for the 30th edition of Rocky Mountain Alliance Blog Talk Radio. Our (re)scheduled guest is Evergreen businessman Dan Maes to talk about his grassroots campaign for Colorado's Republican gubernatorial nomination in 2010. If all goes as planned, another guest should be in the works as well. If you miss the live show, you can go back and download the podcast, or just use the handy widget on my sidebar to listen directly from Mount Virtus. … [Read more...]
Learning from Bill Ritter’s Four Mistakes (so far) in the Senate Bill 180 Veto
I asked before if Bill Ritter called the bluff of Big Labor with his veto of Senate Bill 180. If we're to judge by last Friday's union-organized rally, then Ritter made a mistake. To see what I mean, take a step over to Face The State's slideshow, and see signs like "Why does Ritter hate fire fighters?" and "Ritter lied to my dad" (or just Senator Lois Tochtrop's angry expression). Of course, Ritter didn't make a mistake from the standpoint of choosing good policy over bad policy. But he has made four mistakes surrounding this issue: Don't make promises you don't intend to keep. Backroom campaign promises can come back to burn you. As observed at ColoradoPols and demonstrated by the little girl's "Ritter lied to my dad" sign, … [Read more...]
D-Day Plus 65 Years
Last night I watched again the opening scenes of Saving Private Ryan. It's hard to put such moving sacrifice into perspective, on this the 65th anniversary of the D-Day invasion to begin the liberation of Europe. But I leave you with portions of two relevant addresses -- one contemporaneous and one retrospective. First, from General Dwight D. Eisenhower on the eve of invasion:You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you. In company with our brave Allies and brothers-in-arms on other Fronts, you will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi … [Read more...]
Is Bill Ritter’s SB 180 Veto a Dare to Big Labor to Challenge His Office?
Update, 9:30 AM: AFL-CIO press release in response to Ritter's SB 180 veto pasted below the fold. Also, Amy Oliver notes that several legislators from northern Colorado went against the will of the people in voting for SB 180 -- having benefited from thousands in labor campaign contributions. Yesterday I gave Governor Bill Ritter kudos for the veto of SB 180. Today's Denver Post follow-up by Lynn Bartels is headlined with the statement that Rep. Edward Casso and organized labor interests see the decision as a "tipping point". It could be my imagination, but I got the impression from reading the story that Ritter essentially is saying something like this to the unions:So yeah, I have this penchant of making a wide spectrum of different … [Read more...]
Kudos to Bill Ritter for SB 180 Veto: Good Public Policy Beats Out Politics
It's not often I laud Colorado Governor Bill Ritter, but he is to be commended today for choosing good public policy over political pressures by vetoing Senate Bill 180 -- the firefighter collective bargaining legislation. While Ritter's official statement put the matter more diplomatically than I have, he didn't buy the phony argument about firefighter safety:Third, the debate on this bill raised important issues about firefighter safety, but there are better ways to address these issues than mandatory collective bargaining in certain communities. We must address firefighter safety at the state level. Doing so ensures that all areas of Colorado can benefit. Under this bill, however, the safety issues would only be addressed in the … [Read more...]
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