Godspeed and Semper Fi to Marine Colonel (and state senator) Steve Ward, whom the Denver Post reports today is being deployed to Iraq for a short-term assignment: Ward expects to be in Iraq - probably Anbar province in the western part of the country - by late August or early September. "I'm assuming Anbar," Ward said when asked where he will be stationed. "I go where they send me." The short-term assignment to help Iraqis set up a democratic government is scheduled to end in time for Ward to fill his state Senate seat when the assembly reconvenes in January. Ward was appointed to the state Senate to replace Sen. Jim Dyer, who resigned after he was elected in November to the Arapahoe County Board of Commissioners. I met … [Read more...]
Ritter out of Touch on Iraq
Phil Mella at Clear Commentary draws our attention to a story in the Colorado Springs Gazette about Gov. Bill Ritter's encounter with a group of Iraqi teenagers. As usual, Phil has a lucid grasp of events and provides keen insights that put Ritter's "veneer-thin understanding of events on the ground in Iraq" into a broader and deeper context. His conclusion is worth quoting: Politics has a way of infecting collective thought in ways that create a kind of lemming-like group think which effectively relieves us of the charge of thinking for ourselves. Let's hope that as real progress continues in Iraq our arm chair strategists such as Ritter begin digging a bit deeper into the situation so that they can rise above the din of the mainstream … [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...]
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...]
Harsanyi to Parents: “Start acting like a contemptible snob”
In light of yesterday's release of CSAP results, the Post's David Harsanyi gives his diagnosis: The fact that a third of Colorado students can't adequately read and that half can't pass a math test doesn't mean that Colorado school reform is stalling. It means that some schools and students are stalling and many parents aren't taking their children's potential seriously enough. Either Mom and Dad aren't spending adequate time helping to educate their kids, or they're not taking advantage of the (still limited) choices Colorado schools offer, or they're not demanding those in charge to get the job done. Which brings us to the solution. More Coloradans should act rich. I can only add in emphasis that acting rich in this case … [Read more...]
Colorado Democrat Partisanship
Michael at Best Destiny made a great catch today, courtesy of Captain Ed, about the more pronounced partisanship of Colorado's Democrat Congressional delegation. Almost 96 percent of the time, the quartet of Diana DeGette, Mark Udall, Ed Perlmutter, and John Salazar vote along with Nancy Pelosi. As Michael points out, Bob Schaffer needs to trumpet the notable statistic that Boulder liberal Udall has earned his moniker by voting party line 95.1 percent of the time. Put precisely, Udall is 95.1 percent Pelosi pure. Of course, liberal elite orthodoxy has tried to teach us that only Republicans can be "partisan." Voting with the Democrat agenda makes them "bipartisan." This implied double standard in the world of politics has been around … [Read more...]
Selective Phony Outrage of Colorado’s Left: Part CXXVII
The highly-paid propaganda organs of Colorado's Left make a living off incidents of phony selective outrage, such as the one repeated yesterday against Republican U.S. Senate candidate Bob Schaffer at one of their mouthpieces. Today's Denver Post clears up the matter pretty decisively, however. First, they picked the wrong subject to attack him on. Schaffer's personal integrity and principled stance on issues of parental choice and educational freedom are well-established. Further diminishing the credibility of those who attack him, they are firmly aligned with the status quo forces of the teachers union: Schaffer said there is no connection between his vote to support the charter school and Brennan's contribution. "I … [Read more...]
More Americans Taking Notice of Military Progress in Iraq
This week alone from Iraq, we see strong evidences of success in our fight against al-Qaeda (Sunni) and against the Iranian-backed Mahdi Army (Shi'a). Both developments provide encouraging news in our slow upward climb to victory. Also encouraging is that our fellow countrymen may be beginning to take notice. Results of respected national polls taken before this week's developments already show some noteworthy changes in American public opinion concerning Iraq. Far from the Left's loudly-touted "mandate" to the new Democratic Congress to get our troops out of there right now, only 20 percent of Americans favor this approach. Fifty-four percent believe immediate withdrawal would leave Iraq in worse shape, and 71 percent recognize that it … [Read more...]
Memo to Those Who Have Yet to Join the Digital TV World
Anyone like me, trapped in the dark ages of having a television set not equipped to receive digital signals, ought to read this (though with more than 18 months to go, it seems hardly the time to panic): On Feb. 18, 2009, tens of millions of televisions that are not equipped to receive digital signals will become useless pieces of furniture. The government is spending $5 million to let owners know so they can do something about it -- not enough, critics say. While the government has committed $1.5 billion for viewers to spend on converter boxes that will translate digital signals for older televisions, it is largely relying on the broadcast industry to spread the word about the changeover. The critics are wrong: It shouldn't be the … [Read more...]
Democrats Attempt to Deceive about Tax Hike Scheme
Earlier this year Colorado Democrats violated the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights by raising your taxes without asking your permission. Then, feeling a bit guilty perhaps, they are caught in a deceitful ad campaign to cover up their folly. Face the State observed the message coming on behalf of Senator Suzanne Williams, D-Aurora, but I've also seen the message coming on behalf of Senator Betty Boyd, D-Lakewood. The occasional reminders may seem repetitive, but I want to make sure more and more Coloradans clearly see the danger of having handed the purse strings of state government over to the Democrats. To drive the point home, please read from the following: - June 18: "Consequences of supporting a property tax increase" - June 6: … [Read more...]
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