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Big Labor Has Ritter Running Scared

Writing over at Politics West, my Independence Institute colleague Jessica Corry ((no, we didn't collaborate) calls out Gov. Bill Ritter's plea for business and labor to get along as one-sided and politically motivated:A battle over labor issues could cost Ritter and the Democratic Party serious political capital. And with national Democrats coming to Denver this August for their national convention, the last thing Ritter needs is an extremist union agenda to impede his party's effort to appeal to moderate small- and medium-sized business owners. It's no surprise really then that Ritter is being ignored. Cross posted at Ritter Watch … [Read more...]

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After Political Prosecution, Cory Voorhis Still Able to Say “God Bless America”

In his latest Human Events column, Colorado's own Ross Kaminsky highlights the amazing character of Cory Voorhis, the politically-targeted federal immigration agent who last week was exonerated in a case that stems back to the 2006 election:Cory Voorhis looked me in the eye and said “God Bless America”. It was a remarkable statement from a man whose life has been turned upside down by a justice system which was hijacked by politicians and turned loose on this unsung American hero. When I said to Voorhis that it was remarkable he still felt that way, he pointed to his American flag lapel pin and said, still choked up from the news five minutes earlier, “This is what I stand for.” Five minutes earlier, at about 1:45 PM on … [Read more...]

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Samsphere: Windy City Blogging

I have accepted an invitation to appear at a national conference of free market / limited-government bloggers. It's off to the 1st Annual Samsphere Chicago event this weekend:Samsphere is a new media forum, hosted by the Sam Adams Alliance, where bloggers and e-activists from across the country can gather together to network and share ideas. Samsphere will be specifically geared toward bloggers and e-activists who focus on local and state-level politics, and who are dedicated to the principles of individual freedom and limited government. For the hard-core Lefties, yes, Samsphere is the shadowy Vast Right Wing Conspiracy in action. For the rest of my readers, it's not so secretive as all that. It will be an opportunity to expand the … [Read more...]

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Do You Believe in the Stork?

Paul Chesser reports that Colorado chemical engineer Ed Rademacher, Jr., shared a fact-based report with Montana state legislators that questioned the group promoting climate change policies in Montana and many other states. For his work, Mr. Rademacher was showered with shame and insult for daring to cast doubt on the prevailing Eco-Orthodoxy. This Montana legislator equated an engineer's skepticism about man-made climate change to a belief that the stork delivers babies It's the response of one state Rep. Sue Dickenson that makes this story interesting. Here's the key excerpt: … [Read more...]

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On the Air This Morning

I am scheduled to be a guest on the Amy Oliver Show on Northern Colorado's AM 1310 KFKA this morning at 10:00 AM (Mountain Daylight Time). I will be talking about my new report on Gov. Bill Ritter's union "employee partnerships," including a breakdown of the weak arguments used to defend Ritter's executive order and potential harms that it creates. For those who don't have time to look at the full-blown report, I also have created a two-page overview. You can listen live online here. … [Read more...]

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I.I. Radio Ad Calls for State Board Transparency on Property Tax Hike

Following up on my post from yesterday... The Independence Institute - where I work my day job - has put out a radio ad today calling for a public recorded vote from the State Board of Education on the Governor's property tax hike. Here's a You Tube video, using the audio from the radio ad, that the I.I. tech team created (they're getting pretty good at this): If you have an opinion to share on this issue, don't leave a comment here unless you've first shared your opinion with the State Board. … [Read more...]

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Colorado Democrats Stick It to Taxpayers AND College Students

With Democrats in charge at the State Capitol, we get more reminders than we would like about their party leaders' priorities: 1) Stick it to the taxpayer on the collection end; and 2) Use personal politics to stick it to certain users of state services on the distribution end. What does this add up to? Average Colorado citizens like you and I get stuck. This morning's reminder comes via Rocky Mountain Right, as it appears that statehouse Democrat lawmakers are using their dislike of new University of Colorado president Bruce Benson to undercut the students and faculty on Denver's Auraria campus. Yes, Auraria funding was arbitrarily revoked, leaving a $120 million science facility construction site uncompleted. If you recall, during … [Read more...]

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Inspiration for Center-Right Bloggers

Yesterday I wrote about the positive experience of meeting RedState's Erick Erickson. What I forgot to post was a mention of the speech he gave at Samsphere. It's good food for thought for those of us who blog on the conservative, pro-freedom side. Better yet, here's the link to a written version of the speech, with an excerpt to tease your interest:Too many of us are frozen by inaction today because of our visions of tomorrow. I can’t tell you how many friends I see sitting around, plotting web strategy and how to crush the left online only to sit on their hands or twiddle their thumbs and give up hope because they don’t have the funding or the knowledge or the connections or the skill set or the message hammered out — great ideas … [Read more...]