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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Corry: Colorado Conservatives Uniting?

My Independence Institute colleague Jessica Corry has a column up at Politics West about a Denver event last night that she says holds out hope for re-uniting key wings of the old Reagan Republican coalition. Former Owens adviser Sean Duffy and Colorado Family Institute president Jim Pfaff were two of the panelists:Duffy calls himself a "pro-life, pro-gay" Republican, jokingly claiming that he's been kicked out of the Republican Party multiple times only to come back for more abuse. You may remember him as the right-hand man of former Gov. Bill Owens, a conservative Republican. "At the end of the day, as Republicans, we should all just want the government to leave us alone," he told me. And Pfaff, while frequently identified by his ties … [Read more...]

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Statehouse Dems Pushing Colorado Farther Away from Tax Freedom

The Tax Foundation's yearly "Tax Freedom Day" report is out (H/T State Policy Network Blog), and the results as usual are not startling. The average taxpayer both in Colorado and nationwide has to work until April 23 to pay off their share of the tax burden:This year’s Tax Freedom Day falls three days earlier than in 2007. Fiscal stimulus rebates and a projection of slow growth in 2008 are the principal reasons for the earlier celebration. However, if the large projected deficit for 2008 were counted as a tax in the current year, Tax Freedom Day would fall on May 3. “Government continues to dominate the American taxpayer’s budget,” said Tax Foundation president Scott Hodge. “Americans will still spend more on taxes in 2008 than … [Read more...]

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More Outrageous Teacher Stories

The Center for Union Facts' campaign to pay the 10 worst teachers $10,000 each to retire, over at Teachers Union Exposed, has picked up some colorful entries in the past couple weeks. How about "The Drunk Gunman"?This week’s featured nominee pulled up, drunk, to the drive-thru window of a fast-food restaurant. After ordering, he became angry that he wasn’t getting his food fast enough, so he took out a gun and started waving it at restaurant employees. After his arrest, he pled nolo contendere to all charges and was sent to jail. His students, meanwhile, were told he was caring for an ill family member; now out of jail, he’s back in the classroom with his job intact. Or "Teaching to the Test":Two years ago [nominee] was caught … [Read more...]

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Union Bosses Act Like State Property Owners Under Ritter’s Order

Face the State has the skinny on "Colorado WINS" union bosses acting like they own state government property:An executive order, signed by Gov. Bill Ritter, a Democrat, last November, empowered unions to serve as “exclusive representatives” of state employees for the purposes of forming “employee partnerships.” Days after the order, a coalition of three major unions – CAPE-SEIU, AFSCME, and the American Federation of Teachers – announced a cooperative agreement to organize state workers under the name "Colorado WINS." After hearing from state employees that Colorado WINS is aggressively trying to organize an election, Face The State attempted to attend an on-site meeting between the union and state employees. Face The State … [Read more...]

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Colorado Confidential Accuses U.S. Military Personnel of “Murder”?

Today Colorado Confidential published a story by Kate Bernuth about a controversy developing at a small private Denver school. It starts as a typical foray into agenda journalism for the heavily Left-leaning site:At a tiny international school in southeast Denver, a conflict is playing out that reflects, in a microcosm, the wider divisions in American society as the nation enters the sixth year of a bloody, unpopular war. A display of photographs and a statement by the Iranian artist in the halls of Colorado International School has caused a dust-up between administrators and an outraged parent who accuses the school of spreading "anti-American propaganda." Every month at this language-immersion school of 44 students, most of whom are … [Read more...]

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“Democrat” Label Featured Less in Scandal Reporting: More Proof

Any fair-minded and honest observer of political events knows that neither major party has cornered the market on scandals. Public officials elected both as Republicans and Democrats have been exposed for various types of corruption, malfeasance, and other prominent moral failings. So why are major media outlets so unbalanced in their presentation? Sure, anytime there is a salacious scandal or other revelation that results in the resignation of a big-city mayor, governor, or member of Congress, the news has to talk about it. But there has been a clear and measurable tendency on the media's part to ignore the party label far more when the story is about a Democrat. More proof emerges today: My Independence Institute colleague David … [Read more...]

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Good Friday

Serious reflections for Good Friday (all passages from the New American Standard Bible): Romans 5:6-9 For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. I Peter 2:21-24 For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, WHO COMMITTED NO SIN, NOR WAS ANY DECEIT FOUND IN HIS MOUTH; and while being reviled, He … [Read more...]

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Putting Iraq in Perspective

Today's lead editorial in the Wall Street Journal puts our five-year-long war in Iraq in perspective - surveying where we've come from, where we are today, and what the near future portends. The editorial, which deserves perusal from beginning to end, concludes:In our March 18, 2003 editorial on the eve of Iraq's liberation, we supported the war while noting that "toppling Saddam is a long-term undertaking" and "the U.S. has never been good at nation-building." We wish we had been wrong on both counts, but our view has always been that nations shouldn't begin wars they don't intend to win. And newspapers don't endorse wars only to walk away when the fighting gets difficult. The U.S. sacrifice in Iraq has been honorable, our soldiers have … [Read more...]

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Without Republican Support, Car Fee Hike One Too Many for Ritter

This morning the Denver Post reports that Gov. Bill Ritter is dropping the "hot potato" that would have hit all Colorado families with another $100 in vehicle registration fees. Of course, it's important to note that it was Ritter who took the potato out of the oven after it had been thoroughly cooked by his blue ribbon commission. Seems the governor was unable to get a single Republican in the legislature to sign on to "the bait and switch con game." Kudos to the Republicans for showing some taxpayer-friendly backbone on this one. Meanwhile, the fact that Ritter is unwilling to push his fee hike forward without a Republican co-sponsor shows just how scared Democratic leaders are of being recognized as the party of tax … [Read more...]