Mount Virtus

"Happy to come back to Michigan, but I miss the mountains!"

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Mount Virtus?

Every day is seeking to rise to the challenge, 'neath the shadow of the mighty Rockies.

Colorado Ballot Reviews

Sometimes the choices are daunting or confusing, sometimes they're as clear as a Mile High view.

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“Consider Yourself” Ready to Refute Inflated Colorado Child Poverty Claim

Oftentimes big, misleading headlines can circumnavigate the globe many times over before the much more nuanced truth gets a chance to catch up. Well, here's a terrific case in point that figures to pop up in Colorado policy debates. Last June the Colorado Children's Campaign released its annual Kids Count report. Latching on to that report, newspapers from the Denver Post to the New York Times climbed on board the claim that Colorado leads the nation with a 73 percent rise in child poverty from 2000 to 2006. In case you were confused, and wondered why you weren't seeing scenes like this one in and around our great state, the Independence Institute's Linda Gorman cleared up the picture a bit for you in last Friday's Denver Daily … [Read more...]

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Rocky Mtn Alliance Blog Talk Radio at 8:30 PM: Todd Shepherd, Mark Hillman

Tune in starting at 8:30 PM local Mountain Time this evening for the 10th edition of Rocky Mountain Alliance Blog Talk Radio, the third of 2009. Tonight's guests are my Independence Institute colleague Todd Shepherd and Republican National Committeeman and former state legislative leader Mark Hillman. Topics are likely to include the probable demise of the Rocky Mountain News, the local media scene, the inauguration, the contest for the chairmanship of the Republican National Committee, the unfolding state legislative session, and more. Don't forget. If you miss the live broadcast of tonight’s show, you can go back and download the podcast, or just use the handy widget on my sidebar to listen directly from Mount Virtus. More … [Read more...]

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iVoices: What the $632 Million in State Budget Cuts Actually Represents

More than once I've discussed the $632 million or so in state budget cuts being proposed in these rough economic times. But it's important to note what this figure represents (the drop-off from projected spending) and what it does not (the amount of actual reduction in spending from the previous year). On this iVoices podcast, the Independence Institute's Penn Pfiffner explains with host Jon Caldara: … [Read more...]

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The Detroit Lions Are Doing Something Good for the Cause of Education

Say what you will, the 0-16 Detroit Lions at least are doing something to alleviate complaints that too many top-flight college athletes are jumping ship early and skipping out on finishing their degrees. From today's Detroit Free Press:There has been speculation that the fear of becoming a Lion was one of the variables Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Sam Bradford considered when he opted to remain at Oklahoma. It was also a consideration for Texas quarterback Colt McCoy, who'll return to the Longhorns.... The deadline for declaring for the draft came Thursday. There were surprises along with Sanchez. Mississippi junior defensive end Greg Hardy, who had 8 1/2 sacks and 9 1/2 tackles for loss last season, opted to remain at Ole Miss. … [Read more...]

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Shedding No Tears for the Shane Co. – No Diamond Business Friend of Mine

So the Shane Co. files Chapter 11 bankruptcy. As one not in the habit of frequenting jewelry stores, you might think I'm utterly indifferent. But then you'd see that I'm blogging on the topic, so perhaps you're wondering there must be something prompting me to waste a few minutes. Well, you're right. The lovely Mrs. Virtus and I are here laughing about the story, because we never intend to go back to the Shane Co., Chapter 11 or no. … [Read more...]

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Rocky Mountain Alliance Blog Talk Radio with Mike Kopp Tonight at 8:30

Please note the new time! Blog Talk Radio show expands to 90 minutes of lively and hard-hitting looks at Colorado politics and the world around us... Tune in at 8:30 PM local Mountain Time this evening for the ninth edition of Rocky Mountain Alliance Blog Talk Radio. Tonight's guest is state senator Mike Kopp, Littleton Republican and senate minority caucus chair. The legislative session is just beginning to pick up steam this week, and Senator Kopp will talk about the GOP agenda starting at 9:30 PM. The show's new, 90-minute format opens the door for a second guest (as yet unannounced) at 8:45. Hosts for this evening are Joshua, El Presidente, and Night Twister. Since they were all at the pro-Israel rally downtown Sunday, I'm sure … [Read more...]

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Dem Lawmaker: Pay No Attention to the Salaries of Colorado State Employees

Jessica Fender from the Denver Post reports on one Democrat state legislator doing the union's bidding to go upstream against the promising trend toward transparency in state government:The salaries of individual public employees could be kept secret under a new bill sponsored by Assistant Majority Leader Sen. Lois Tochtrop and prompted by a database of state employee pay published last year by The Denver Post. Under Senate Bill 49, the public could still see aggregated pay for positions or departments, but there would be no more looking up a particular state employee's salary.... The Colorado Association of Public Employees brought Tochtrop the bill this summer, she said. JOE CITIZEN: This aggregated information of state employee … [Read more...]

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Bill Ritter in a “Straightjacket” over Colorado’s Taxpayer Protections

Sean Paige at Local Liberty Online made a great catch, picking up on this excerpt from Bill Ritter's State of the State speech earlier today (H/T Complete Colorado):"There is also an opportunity here – a chance to address TABOR and the constitutional and statutory straightjacket* that makes modern, sensible and value-based budgeting an impossibility. Last year, former House Speaker Romanoff started the conversation, and we need to keep it alive. We need to talk about life after Ref C – whether and when to extend it. We have a chance to find a better way forward, a Colorado way forward." Bill Ritter said what? About 2 months after Colorado voters said No to a proposal to gut TABOR refunds forever and rejected two other major statewide … [Read more...]