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...]
Ritter, Kennedy, and Morse Loosening Fiscal Knot for Taxpayers’ Necks
Today's Denver Post news story on Governor Bill Ritter's signing of Senate Bill 228 offers the generous headline: "Colorado's fiscal knot loosens". I've taken the liberty to complete the thought with my own sub-headline: "Noose nearly large enough to fit around taxpayers' necks". The article is correct insofar as it points out that the impact of this bill in repealing limits on the growth of discretionary government spending likely won't be felt for a couple years. But that provides little solace, especially when you listen to the righteous confusion coming from the Democratic cast of characters behind this anti-taxpayer legislation. … [Read more...]
Lessons: Unparallel Treatment of George Tiller & William Long Murders
No two events are perfectly parallel, but seldom are two such similar and terrible stories juxtaposed for our edification. Within 24 hours and within 500 miles from each other, two notable murders occurred -- both evil acts perpetrated in public by two different men, but both for apparent ideological reasons, both sudden and horribly unexpected events for the families and loved ones of the victims, both suspects quickly brought into custody. That's where the parallels end. What's most informative is some of the prominent responses to the two incidents: … [Read more...]
‘Noble Pride’ Lives On: A Principled Lesson for the ‘Hillsdale of the East’
Unbelievably, a few weeks ago I passed the 10th anniversary of my graduation from Hillsdale College with a bachelors degree. But the spirit of school pride lives on, and my heart smiled when today I read William McGurn's Wall Street Journal column "How Hillsdale Beats Harvard". After explaining how Hillsdale's principled stand of not accepting any federal funds fits right in with the school's warm welcome of military recruiters on campus, McGurn concludes:If Harvard believes that our Armed Forces are inconsistent with its values, surely the honest thing to do is to stand on principle and accept the funding consequences. The folks at Hillsdale would be glad to show the way. Back in the good old college days, there was a running quip … [Read more...]
Mystery Tidwell Volunter Steps Over the Line, Hopefully Astroturfing Stops
I am relieved to learn that U.S. Senate candidate Cleve Tidwell was not posting bizarre online comments himself. As Mr. Tidwell joins us for tonight's Blog Talk Radio show, I hope to hear what the campaign learned from this episode. I also hope today's revelation marks the end of the online astroturfing. Inquiring minds will be left to wonder who the campaign volunteer was who had access to Mr. Tidwell's private email address and "might have stepped over the line". … [Read more...]
Rossputin Takes On The Government General Motors Takeover Travesty
Last night I wrote about my personal connection to a General Motors plant closing. To put that into meaningful (and frightening) perspective, you simply have to read Rossputin's insightful account of the travesty that is the wildly unpopular government takeover of GM. It's the lead story at Human Events, and for good reason. Congratulations, Ross! … [Read more...]
RMA Blog Talk Radio Tonight at 8:30: Candidates Dan Maes, Cleve Tidwell
Tune in tonight at 8:30 PM local Mountain time for the 29th edition of Rocky Mountain Alliance Blog Talk Radio. Guests for tonight's show are a pair of political newcomers making longshot bids for statewide office. Evergreen businessman Dan Maes will join us to talk about his grassroots campaign for Colorado's Republican gubernatorial nomination in 2010. Causing a stir in the local blogosphere this week, U.S. Senate hopeful Cleve Tidwell will make an appearance in the latter half of the program to discuss his candidacy. 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...]
One Year Without a Wristwatch
Today is a perfect occasion to show off my predilection for recalling and recounting trivial information. Today is the first anniversary of giving up my wristwatch. Or more appropriately, of my last watch giving up the ghost. From age 7 to age 31 I wore some kind of wristwatch on my left arm. When the last one broke, I decided to see what it would be like to give up the instant time-telling habit cold turkey. The good news is I have gone a whole year without a timepiece on my arm. Of course, having a cell phone that keeps track of time sure helps. But I never would have thought it would be so easy to live life wristwatch-free. Now back to your regularly scheduled broadcasting of truly important news and commentary. … [Read more...]
The World is Changing: GM Pontiac Plant Closing Strikes Close to Home
This report from the Detroit News strikes close to home:Oakland County is taking a major hit in General Motors Corp.'s restructuring in bankruptcy, with an estimated 6,600 of the 8,900 factory jobs lost in Michigan based in the affluent county north of Detroit. But one of the plants to be idled, in Orion Township, is in the running to build a small car in the future, said GM spokesman Chris Lee. The Orion site currently assembles the mid-size Chevrolet Malibu and Pontiac G6. "It's a real sad day," said UAW Local 549 President Doug Bowman in Pontiac. Workers at Pontiac Assembly, which makes the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups, were told by plant officials at 8:15 a.m. the 3.4 million-square-foot plant will close in October … [Read more...]
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