Rocky Mountain Voice

Commentary

Virginia Democrats Abandon Affordability Promises With Massive Tax and Policy Push
The Daily Signal, Approved, Commentary, National

Virginia Democrats Abandon Affordability Promises With Massive Tax and Policy Push

By Jarrett Stepman | Commentary, The Daily Signal Remember when Democrats spent an entire election cycle talking about “affordability” as if that’s all they care about now? Well, if you bought that, then there’s a socialist mayor in New York who’s got a bridge to sell you. But New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani isn’t actually the one completely blowing up the affordability farce, it’s assumedly “moderate” Virginia Democrats. Much of the media touted Abigail Spanberger as the moderate Democrat gubernatorial candidate who could lead the party back to power. The Wall Street Journal even called her the “anti-Mamdani.” “Abigail Spanberger is seen as a potential moderate face for her struggling party,” read The Wall Street Journal’s subheadline. ...
‘Fully funded’ education: Panelist cites 30–70% increase as Sen. Kipp says “TABOR is why we don’t have nice things”
Christian Home Educators of Colorado, Approved, Commentary, State

‘Fully funded’ education: Panelist cites 30–70% increase as Sen. Kipp says “TABOR is why we don’t have nice things”

By Colleen Enos | Commentary, Christian Home Educators of Colorado Friday, January 16th, Day Three of the legislative session, began in a manner that seemed to promote general agreement in the Colorado House of Representatives. Since the upcoming Monday, January 19th, was Martin Luther King Jr. Day and a legal state holiday, the House began with a resolution recognizing Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Things went south when Representative Naquetta Ricks compared Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations to the German Gestapo of Adolf Hitler. This was a shocking statement to make in the middle of recognizing the civil rights efforts of Martin Luther King Jr. Representatives DeGraff and Bottoms brought some much-needed perspective to the conversation, in addition to Rep...
Colorado prison beds could run out by 2026 and lawmakers face hard choices
Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

Colorado prison beds could run out by 2026 and lawmakers face hard choices

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project Spidey sense is tingling on the jail population … I had a reader mention something I thought worth sharing. Colorado has a problem. Our jail’s are nearing capacity. On top of that, we’re struggling to find people willing to guard them.A Corrections1 link is first below. It’s a copy (without the paywall) of a Denver Post article detailing how a Colorado budget analyst for the legislature’s Joint Budget Committee said we’re going to run out of beds for men in prison as early as 2026. Quoting with link intact: “Colorado’s prisons will run out of beds for men in the next fiscal year unless significant changes are made to either reduce the prison population or increase capacity, a state analyst projects in a n...
Stop the bleeding: Fraud, tariffs and the reality of a $1.8 trillion deficit
American Thinker, Approved, Commentary, National

Stop the bleeding: Fraud, tariffs and the reality of a $1.8 trillion deficit

By Brian C. Joondeph | Commentary, American Thinker The U.S. federal government finished Fiscal Year 2025 with about $7 trillion in outlays and just over $5 trillion in revenues, leaving a deficit of roughly $1.8 trillion -- a gap that adds to the exploding national debt and threatens economic stability.  Under current trajectories, deficits are projected to remain near this scale for the foreseeable future, absent dramatic policy changes. What if, as some argue, the solution is staring us in the face: eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse across government programs and pair that with stronger tariff revenues?  Could that alone balance the budget without cutting core programs or raising taxes? Is this wishful thinking or a real possibility? There...
Merit Academy: Undeniable Change, A Model For Our Next Victory
Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, State, Top Stories

Merit Academy: Undeniable Change, A Model For Our Next Victory

By Eric Gil | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice The success of Merit Academy in Woodland Park is no secret. When your school is ranked #5 of all K-12 Colorado Public Schools, it is hard to hide. This article is a look into the origin story of Merit Academy, led by Headmaster Gwynne Pekron. A reminder that we still hold the power to shape our children’s futures and that even when faced with centralized control, a path to real change exists. As a former charter school student and public school teacher, Merit’s story of ascension inspires me to look for ways to ensure our future.   Increased attention toward public education from concerned parents is one of the many lasting outcomes of the 2020 pandemic and the subsequent shifts in education. In Woodland Park, this ...
From Misunderstanding to Malice. Why Conservatives Finally Speak Plainly
Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, National, Top Stories

From Misunderstanding to Malice. Why Conservatives Finally Speak Plainly

By C. J. Garbo | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice For decades, many conservatives believed silence was a virtue. They assumed that if they spoke carefully, clearly, and charitably, they would be understood. When their views were mischaracterized as racist, cruel, or hateful, they often withdrew. Not because they agreed with the accusation, but because they did not want to be mistaken for something they were not. That assumption was wrong. The problem was never widespread misunderstanding by good people. The problem was intentional distortion by bad actors. Language was not being misheard. It was being weaponized. Moral accusations were not mistakes. They were tactics. Once you understand that distinction, everything changes. If your opponent is honestly...
Colorado’s prisons are on the verge of total collapse. 
Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, State, Top Stories

Colorado’s prisons are on the verge of total collapse. 

By Ahnaf Kalam | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Colorado's prisons are on the verge of total collapse. As of late 2025, state facilities are operating at nearly 98% capacity, while being severely understaffed. Men's prisons alone are projected to run out of beds entirely in the next fiscal year unless drastic measures are taken to reduce the population or add capacity. Inmates are backing up into county jails which were never designed or funded for long-term state housing, while prison staff face mandatory overtime, burnout, and reduced security and rehabilitation programs. And yet, amid this crisis, the Colorado Department of Corrections has found it in its budget to staff a full-time, taxpayer-funded practitioner of "gender-affirming care" for prison inmates. ...
Beyond the baby bust: Parents quietly exit Colorado public schools
Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, Red State, Top Stories

Beyond the baby bust: Parents quietly exit Colorado public schools

By Christian Horstmann | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Our public schools lost 10,000 students this year. Is there another reason beyond the baby bust and a population pinch? Colorado’s public schools just posted their steepest enrollment slide since the pandemic: down more than 10,000 students this year, affecting each of our top ten largest districts and many others statewide.1 Denver Public Schools alone lost about 1,200 students2 and the district is already projecting another 6,000 by 20293 – almost certain to trigger even more school closures on top of the ten that have already been shuttered over the last few years.  Interestingly, overcrowded classrooms were presented during recent school board campaigns as an issue to address, but the opposite sce...
Watch closely: The PUC sunset hearing could reshape Colorado energy policy
Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

Watch closely: The PUC sunset hearing could reshape Colorado energy policy

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project Watch for the PUC sunset hearing. Not only will it be a chance to weaken local control, DORA wants less transparency for them.I will be watching and posting (from what my state senator B Pelton said, it should be late February or early March), but I wanted to put a bug in your ear to watch for the Public Utilities Commission's sunset hearing in front of the Senate Transportation and Energy Committee.As I wrote [last week], there are rumblings about changing the mission of the PUC to perhaps grease the skids for state-level siting of renewables.The PUC sunset hearing will be the time that they do this, but there are other things I've heard. I wrote back last year about a CFOIC article showing the Department o...
From Obstruction to Oppression: How the Media Rewrites ICE Enforcement
The Federalist, Approved, Commentary, National

From Obstruction to Oppression: How the Media Rewrites ICE Enforcement

By: M.D. Kittle | Commentary, The Federalist Corporate media outlets have covered the Minneapolis ICE story like they’ve covered much of Homeland Security’s efforts to secure the homeland: dishonestly. Aliya Rahman says she feels “lucky to be alive,” that the days since federal law enforcement officials dragged her out of her car have been “traumatizing and overwhelming.”  Corporate media outlets will tell you that, too. All of them. The same story, the same narrative. The “disabled woman” was just trying to get to her doctor’s appointment, they report, pushing the left’s message that Rahman is another victim of President Donald Trump’s Immigration & Customs Enforcement agents and their roundup of poor “undocumented” immigrants. What they wo...

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