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Gov. Bill Ritter’s “Slow (Hiring) Freeze” vs. Bill Owens’ Immediate Action

Here's a nice, clear contrast in leadership for you. Last Thursday, Gov. Bill Ritter sent out a press release announcing ways to save state taxpayers money. First on the list:Implementing a hiring freeze for the Executive Branch effective Oct. 1. For those doing the math, that left a few extra days to give all departments notice to fill all open positions. In 2002, then-Gov. Bill Owens, also facing a fiscal crunch, issued an executive order with a similar purpose:Pursuant to C.R.S. § 24-2-102(4), I order a hiring freeze applicable to state government. This hiring freeze is effective immediately. [emphasis added] It will be interesting to see how many last-minute hires came in before Bill Ritter's "slow freeze" went into effect. … [Read more...]

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Protect Colorado Future’s Deception Starting to Get Monotonous

Protect Colorado's Culture of Corruption Future, opponents of the good government reforms Colorado Amendment 49 and Amendment 54, must be going after the world record for most deceptive campaign. They're certainly making a run for it, as their latest effort may take the cake. In today's Rocky Mountain News, CBS4 reporter Raj Chohan dissects their latest out-of-this-world fable:A new political commercial suggests that a trio of Colorado ballot measures would give special breaks to multinational corporations such as Halliburton. The 30-second spot comes from a union-backed group called Protect Colorado's Future. Ad: This is a voter alert. Colorado ballot amendments have built-in loopholes. Amendments 49 and 54 would not apply to … [Read more...]

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Wake Up, America: Why We Can’t Give Democrats Keys to the Treasury

Update: Ross Kaminsky has a great column at Human Events explaining this in more depth. In case you haven't figured it out yet, and are wondering what's the main reason why our nation is in the financial mess it's in, take 9 minutes of your life to watch this: Barack Obama and the Democrats have been given way too much of a free pass on this issue. And their House leader Nancy Pelosi doesn't seem too serious about solving the problem either. If Americans elect these people into power, we get what we deserve. Just don't punish the rest of us -- wake up before you cast your vote! … [Read more...]

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Taxpayer Resources Used to Campaign Against Colorado Amendment 46

Despite Governor Bill Ritter's denial, a state official acknowledged to the Rocky Mountain News that Ritter's administration used official taxpayer resources to invite people to an anti-Amendment 46 campaign event (H/T Face The State):Even as Ritter announced his opposition, Amendment 46 backers complained his administration had used state resources to campaign against the measure, which would be a violation of state law. Ritter denied that. But later, his director of economic development, Don Elliman, acknowledged his office had used state time to invite people to a Sept. 22 forum on Amendment 46, which featured a well-known opponent of such measures, but no one who supported them. "We blew it," Elliman said. "It would appear from … [Read more...]

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Mount Virtus Hosting Group Liveblog of Thursday Biden-Palin Debate

You're invited to tune in this Thursday evening (7:00 PM local Mountain time) for a group liveblog of the vice-presidential debate. Members of the Rocky Mountain Alliance and Peoples Press Collective are coming together to give you their on-the-spot responses and insights as Joe Biden and Sarah Palin duke it out on national television. You can come here to follow along and even add your (moderated) comments. Others who have agreed to participate in the group liveblog so far are: Thinking Right, Rocky Mountain Right, and Drunkablog. I'll notify you if more bloggers agree to participate. … [Read more...]

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Political Fault Lines Clearly Shifting Around Federal Bailout Bill Debate

One thing that's clear is the Congressional bailout debates have shifted political fault lines in unusual ways. The Denver Post highlights the odd split in Colorado's Congressional delegation: Mark Udall, John Salazar, Doug Lamborn, and Marilyn Musgrave against the bill vs. Tom Tancredo, Diana Degette, and Ed Perlmutter for it. Then, there's my two favorite fiscally conservative national think tanks. Co-authoring an issue brief for the Heritage Foundation, former Attorney General Ed Meese says the bailout bill was "vital and acceptable," while Cato Institute scholar Jagadeesh Ghokale notes:Overall, it's not a pretty picture--but score one for supporters of the free market who insist on allowing market reorganization of the financial … [Read more...]

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Jon Caldara and Denver Post Agree on Amendment 49: Stop the Presses!

As of today, the Denver Post becomes the fifth major Colorado newspaper to line up in support of Amendment 49, the Ethical Standards initiative (H/T Ethical Standards). One line from the Post's lead editorial shows how truly remarkable a development this endorsement of Amendment 49 is:It prevents state and local governments from collecting dues for labor unions or other groups that use such funds to elect or lobby the very public officials who hire them and set their salaries and benefits. It's a modest but important ethical rule that will help keep partisan politics, with its echo of the 19th century "spoils system," out of the merit systems that regulate most state and local government jobs. We usually don't agree with the … [Read more...]

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Introducing Ben’s Guide to the Colorado Ballot 2008

Due to the unrivaled success of providing a guide to Colorado's 2006 ballot measures, and an even larger slate of Initiatives and Referenda to consider, I give you Ben's guide to the Colorado ballot for 2008. The author is solely responsible for the opinions contained therein. … [Read more...]