Lovers of liberty, it's not time to be resigned or downtrodden. It's time to stand up and be heard. This week the U.S. House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on the massive energy tax sometimes known as the Waxman-Markey bill or "Cap and Trade". FreedomWorks not only tells you why this bill is bad but provides easy links for you to take action and contact your representative. I already contacted Rep. Ed Perlmutter's office. (Of course, we also have the problem of an already very long piece of legislation that has suddenly added several hundred pages. Unlike the stimulus bill, will our Congressman be able to read it all in time? Consider me skeptical.) As it turns out, the timing of the House vote is proving to be quite … [Read more...]
RMA Blog Talk Radio Tonight at 8:30: Legislative Session, Rep. Kent Lambert
Tune in tonight at 8:30 PM local Mountain time for the 27th edition of Rocky Mountain Alliance Blog Talk Radio. We hope to dedicate this episode to a review of the good, the bad, and the ugly from the recently concluded legislative session in Denver. Our special guest will be Representative Kent Lambert, R-Colorado Springs, vice chair of the Republican Study Committee of Colorado. 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...]
Colorado Governor Bill Ritter to Teller and Gilpin Counties: “Drop Dead”
With his veto of a widely-supported bipartisan measure that would give mountain communities a representative voice on the Limited Gaming Control Commission, Democrat Governor Bill Ritter essentially has said: "Drop dead, Teller and Gilpin Counties". Maybe Ritter is looking for ways to further weaken his sagging approval ratings. … [Read more...]
Forget Stem Cell Ethics Debate, What About Diana DeGette’s Political Career?
This morning you can read the Denver Post's glowing "DeGette relishes stem-cell research triumph" by Michael Riley - in which the only dilemma is not the ethics of harvesting cells from dead unborn babies (or now, thanks to President Obama, spending taxpayer money to do so) but to what extent Denver's liberal Congresswoman will have a successful political career now that her pet issue has been passed into law. Or, if you actually want a thoughtful and critical approach to the issue, you can go back and refresh yourself with Yuval Levin's masterful deconstruction of Diana DeGette's book Sex, Science, and Stem Cells (H/T David Harsanyi). I hope that the Post isn't trying to imply from Riley's article today that the ethical debate … [Read more...]
Tell Congress to Read the Bill: Why Not Sign the Online Petition Today?
Transparency (or the lack thereof) is the name of the game these days. After the Generational Theft Act got shoved down our throats in such a hurry - with Congress having a matter of only a few hours to read the mammoth bill - supporting this idea is the most basic sort of common sense we can ask for in our representative form of government. So go ahead and sign the online petition at Read the Bill, a very simple process that will take you one minute or less (H/T Soren Dayton). Why? The Democrats in charge of Congress don't want you to do it It might help the Republicans find a backbone and champion real reform on the issue It's the right thing to do For more on the government transparency movement (at least in Colorado), visit … [Read more...]