Every day is seeking to rise to the challenge, 'neath the shadow of the mighty Rockies.
Come See Flunked: The Movie’s Colorado Debut Next Wednesday
Flunked: The Movie - an Evergreen Freedom Foundation (EFF) production - comes to Colorado next Wednesday, May 21. The Independence Institute (where I work) is sponsoring the showing of this spectacular 47-minute film about the success stories that should inspire transformational change in our nation's education system. The film, narrated by Joe Mantegna, is more engaging and entertaining than your average documentary. Here's a preview: Also, you can listen to this iVoices podcast recorded today with EFF's Steve Maggi to learn more about the film. And go here to find out how to sign up for the May 21 event. … [Read more...]
Congressional Democrat Payback of Big Labor Marches On: Public Safety Edition
Update, Part Deux: Sources have contacted me to correct my update. The Act hasn't officially passed the Senate yet. The final vote will be later this week. The first vote was a procedural motion that appears to be a strong indicator of a final vote. Anyway, there is hope for this bad legislation to die yet. Update: Just as I was publishing this post, it looks like the Act has passed the Senate, with a lot of so-called Republicans also enabling the legislation. So goes the world... Unsurprisingly, the Democrats in Congress haven't accomplished much since they took over. Most notably, Nancy Pelosi's 2006 "plan" to bring down gas prices is still in the works. One special interest group to which Democrats have been busy pandering is … [Read more...]
China Earthquake Hits Home for (at least) Two Colorado Bloggers
A major earthquake in China today strikes home with a couple of my Colorado blogging friends. Jared and his wife are waiting to pick up their new son from China. Meanwhile, El Presidente waits to hear from "friends and former students" who live in the affected region. As usual, if you are so inclined, prayers are in order. … [Read more...]
At least this isn’t our teachers union…
The teachers union in Washington State turned down millions of dollars in grant money that would have gone to boosting teacher salaries. What, you say? A pair of editorials today explain the story. First, the Daily News Online:That $13.2 million grant Washington state won last year to enhance the teaching of Advanced Placement courses in math and science is history. It’s lost because of the financial incentives it would have provided for teachers who improve test scores. The Washington Education Association didn’t much like the idea of tying teacher pay to student performance on exams. Neither did the teachers union like the involvement of an outside party, the grant provider, in teacher-pay decisions. The zinger, though, comes … [Read more...]
Colorado Dems Fail to Lead or Take Responsibility, Irony Lost on Dead Guvs
The Dead Governors couldn't even bring themselves to defend their majority Democrat Party for accomplishing so little. So they tried to make fun of the minority Republicans for not getting much done themselves either:How do you write a critical op-ed about how Democrats talked and Republicans acted without bothering to mention anything that you actually accomplished yourself? For example: "On health care, we tried to clear away regulatory hurdles..." Good job on trying! Do Colorado's Left-leaning online apologists get the irony here? "You Republicans are going to criticize our Democrats for not fixing the state's problems? Well, I know we were in charge, and there were only 60 of us compared to 40 of you, but you didn't get anything … [Read more...]
More Scientific Doubt Cast on Man-Made Global Warming Hysteria
In Skeptic magazine, peer-reviewed Ph.D. chemist Patrick Frank comes out with the latest rational debunking of man-made global warming hysteria, complete with well-sourced footnotes. More recommended reading for Gov. Bill Ritter and Boulder U.S. Rep. Mark Udall. Meanwhile, more scientists sign on to the dissenting report. As the challenging evidence mounts, we'll wait in vain for the nightly news report. … [Read more...]
Josh Penry: Rising Colorado GOP Star
There's no need to recount the many woes and difficulties Colorado Republicans have faced in recent years, dethroned and demoralized by a well-funded and well-planned onslaught from the Left in the 2004 and 2006 elections. Thanks especially to the principled and savvy work of several key lawmakers in the caucus, the Republicans finally held their own this year. They have set the table for a comeback in Colorado, but the road is still arduous and uphill. The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel shines the light on one of the most prominent - if not the most prominent - GOP rising stars: Senator Josh Penry. The Sentinel reports on the growing speculation that their 32-year-old hometown hero will lead the Senate Republicans next year:Sen. Greg … [Read more...]
Westminster School District Negligence Makes Case for Online Transparency
I about fell out of my chair when I read this local CBS4 TV news story (video also available):An out-of-state architectural firm has billed an Adams County School District nearly $60,000, for hotels, meals and travel expenses in the last year but the district hasn't bothered to ask for, or review, a single receipt. "It's negligence," said Kevin O'Brien, a former IRS agent, CPA and business ethics professor at the University of Denver's Daniels College of Business. "The public has a right to expect there will be some minimum checking on those receipts because its really the public's money." Adams County School District 50 hired Healy, Bender and Associates of Naperville, Ill., last year. The school district enlisted the company to help … [Read more...]
Find a Charter School Near You
The Center for Education Reform, a national charter school advocacy group, has unveiled a new Web tool for families across the country to locate a public charter school near them: YourCharterSchool.com. I test drove the site a bit, and it seems user-friendly. In addition to the map feature, there are several helpful links along the side to guide the uninitiated and to arm any user with important facts. For Colorado families, I'd say YourCharterSchool.com is a very nice complement to the more comprehensive, state-focused School Choice for Kids website. But I'm also interested to hear what Colorado's resident charter school expert Denise has to say. … [Read more...]
Bill Ritter and Colorado Dems: Cheap Tactics, Poor Leadership
It's a classic trick to try to extort taxpayers, yet Bill Ritter and Colorado Democrats are acting as if we're too naive to see it. Mr. DNA at Rocky Mountain Right yesterday highlighted a story in the Denver Post where Ritter and other Democrat leaders made an absurd and startling revelation - blaming the Republicans (who are in the minority across the board) for the inability to move forward a transportation agenda:"I feel like this conversation broke down around politics, that we tried to get the Republicans interested in looking at how we would put together different pots of money," Ritter said. "We began our conversation very early in the session and could not get the Republican leadership to act on it at all." Senate President … [Read more...]
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