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Ballooning Medicaid costs, TABOR limits expose flaws in Colorado’s big government spending spree
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Approved, Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Ballooning Medicaid costs, TABOR limits expose flaws in Colorado’s big government spending spree

By Rocky Mountain Voice Editorial Board After years of overreach and unchecked government growth, Colorado lawmakers are now scrambling to plug a $1.2 billion hole in the state budget — a crisis largely of their own making.  Colorado budget writers voted Wednesday night to finalize a 2025–26 budget plan that slashes transportation funding, eliminates programs, and kicks key decisions down the road — all while Medicaid spending surges out of control. Despite the so-called “cuts,” the budget still grows to over $16 billion. But massive increases in Medicaid — particularly long-term care for seniors and the disabled — are eating up the budget at an unsustainable pace. Democrat lawmakers admit the problem is only getting worse. “Next year, I see our fiscal challenges compounding,...
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Hillman: Fiscal tailgating put Colorado in the ditch
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Approved, Commentary, denvergazette.com, State

Hillman: Fiscal tailgating put Colorado in the ditch

By Mark Hillman | Denver Gazette Headlines from the state Capitol might cause a reader to believe Colorado is in a deep recession. Legislators say they must cut more than $1 billion in spending to balance the 2025-26 budget. Still, state government has $687 million more to spend than last year in a $19 billion budget. So why all the histrionics about a budget “crisis”? Because Colorado lawmakers practice fiscal tailgating. Tailgating on the highway is dangerous because when drivers travel too fast and follow too close to the car ahead, the tailgating driver doesn’t have time to react if the lead driver unexpectedly brakes or swerves. Fiscal tailgating is much the same. Lawmakers spend money as fast as it comes in, then when the economy slows, they face much harder choices th...
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RMV Contributor: When public office becomes a family business on the taxpayer’s dime
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RMV Contributor: When public office becomes a family business on the taxpayer’s dime

By RMV Contributor | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Elon Musk has exposed the grift of the politically-connected who abuse their access and offices to convert public dollars to private gain using tax-funded, non-governmental organizations (NGOs, typically non-profits). We have uncovered a local politician here in Colorado who appears to be doing this – and both she and several family members are benefitting financially. The politician in question is Lorena Garcia, the state house lawmaker for District 35, representing parts of Adams and Jefferson Counties.  Garcia was appointed to the Colorado legislature in early January 2023 after Adrienne Benavidez resigned for unspecified reasons (the mess created by questionable resignations and vacancy appointments in Colorado i...
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Epp: Shake Ups at CDoS — Is a Perkins Coie Alum Now Running CO Elections?
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Approved, Colorado Free Press, Commentary, Top Stories

Epp: Shake Ups at CDoS — Is a Perkins Coie Alum Now Running CO Elections?

By Ashe Epp | Colorado Free Press On Wednesday, the Secretary of State issued a much anticipated response to President Trump’s Election Integrity EO. Jena hasn’t posted on X since November, and the department has been quiet — hence the “much anticipated” billing. The release fell flat. But the header information is news. The Deputy Secretary of State is listed as Andrew Kline. What happened to Christopher Perry Beall? There has been no official announcement that (former?) Deputy Secretary Christopher Perry Beall left the Department. It’s an explosive development.  Colorado Free Press spoke to a county clerk that confirmed, “[He] told us Monday he took a five week sabbatical. He said he used to work for Phil Weiser, and he was going to go back to being a l...
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Hancock: Progressives set the stage, but Congressman Evans skipped the guillotine
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Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice, Top Stories

Hancock: Progressives set the stage, but Congressman Evans skipped the guillotine

By Michael A. Hancock | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice When political opponents are summoned not for conversation — but for execution. By now, the script is all too familiar. A group of self-styled “concerned citizens” — usually bearing placards, hashtags, and an unshakable belief in their moral certitude — convenes a town hall. They claim to be opening a forum for “dialogue” with their congressional representative.  But the scene is less Lincoln-Douglas debate and more kangaroo court. Their goal? Not to converse but to corner. Not to listen, but to lambast. And when the lamb refuses to volunteer for the slaughter, the howling begins. Such is the latest political scenario in the district of Congressman Gabe Evans, a conservative legislator whose greatest sin — acco...
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Tristan: Democrats are betting on fear to win back power
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Approved, Commentary, National, Rocky Mountain Voice, Top Stories

Tristan: Democrats are betting on fear to win back power

By George Tristan | Guest Columnist, Rocky Mountain Voice Nearly all the plexiglass barriers have been removed from checkout lines in grocery stores. It is rare to find any of the 6-foot spaced markers that facilitated social distancing. And thankfully, toilet paper is back in full supply on store shelves. However, the fear of COVID lives on. Many people still wear masks – some even don gloves.  A law enforcement officer recently refused to shake my hand when I extended mine to thank him for his service.  Undoubtedly, the most significant recent example of the effect of fear on the human psyche, was the pandemic. The daily uptick in the global death toll gripped the world in fear. It drove the masses to stand in line to inject an experimental drug into their veins tha...
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Pielke Jr: How To Get Rid of a Tenured Professor
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Approved, Commentary, Reason

Pielke Jr: How To Get Rid of a Tenured Professor

By Roger Pielke Jr. | Reason I was a tenured full professor at the University of Colorado Boulder for almost 24 years. At the end of 2024, I left. Officially, it was a voluntary departure. But I sure felt like I'd been pushed out. My story started in 2015, when Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D–Ariz.) asked the university to investigate me. He alleged that I may have been secretly taking money from Exxon in exchange for the substance of my congressional testimonies, in which I reported on the consensus scientific findings of the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change—that while heat waves and extreme precipitation had increased, there was vanishingly little evidence to support claims that hurricanes, floods, and drought have become more common or intense. I was not taking E...
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Coloradans get their chance to scrap sanctuary laws with ballot measure
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COLORADO PEAK POLITICS, Commentary, State

Coloradans get their chance to scrap sanctuary laws with ballot measure

By Colorado Peak Politics, Commentary Detainees at the Aurora immigration facility escaped this week and are still at large but the media could care less except to fuel a fight between local law enforcement and ICE. Reporters aren’t the least bit curious how the two escapees, and only those two, knew that one back door was unlocked during a power failure. Why was there a power failure and how does that affect the security of the center? So-called journalists don’t seem to care enough to find out. How does the surrounding community feel about the fact that local police refused to respond when called? Or at the very flipping least, why Aurora PD couldn’t even issue a BOLO alert for their officers to be on the lookout? And while we’re grandstanding, since when does the media...
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Pastor Bob: For such a time as this, we must lift our voices
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Approved, Commentary, National, Rocky Mountain Voice

Pastor Bob: For such a time as this, we must lift our voices

By Rev. Robert Babcox | Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice I have been asked: should Christians be involved in politics? Short answer — yes! Oh some may blurt out 2 Corinthians 6:16 in response: "What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: ‘I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God and they will be my people.’ Therefore, come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you." This does not preclude us from voicing and practicing the way and will of God. Remember what Christ said in John 20:21: "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." And with that, he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit." ...
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Devotional: Embracing new life through regeneration
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Approved, Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice

Devotional: Embracing new life through regeneration

By Drake Hunter | Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice The Helmet of Salvation, an essential part of the spiritual armor described in Ephesians 6:10-18, is not merely an image to visualize. It symbolizes the protection and assurance we gain when we respond to God's call for a new life—or a rebirth of reality—a new existence where we shed the old self and embrace a new reality that transforms our religious experiences into a deeper and more profound humanity in every aspect of life. The question is: will you answer the call?  Ring! Ring! Ring! Ah, the sweet sound of an incoming call. Well, at least it used to be. Nowadays, when my wife calls, I hear "Oh Sherrie"  by Journey (yes, I’m that guy). But no matter the ringtone, every call presents a choice—answer it or let it go to voicema...
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