Rocky Mountain Voice

Commentary

Copeland: Colorado’s sex-trafficking crisis, an intersection of immigration and crime
Approved, Commentary, denvergazette.com, State

Copeland: Colorado’s sex-trafficking crisis, an intersection of immigration and crime

By Dr. Tom Copeland | Commentary, Denver Gazette Immigration and crime are two of the top issues in this November’s election, according to polls. Where those two issues intersect tragically is sex trafficking, a $150 billion global industry. According to a recent investigative report by The Free Press, sex and labor trafficking of minors in the United States has more than tripled in the past four years — at least gauging by the number who have escaped slavery. That largely coincides with the opening of the southern border. Colorado is not immune to this trend. There is “market demand” for trafficked migrants; a recent bust in Florida arrested scores of johns, not just traffickers. Investigators with Shepherd’s Watch, a nonprofit which tracks commercial sex trends and identifies po...
Final take in 3rd District: One candidate has misled with deception, half-truths and lies; we support vote for Hurd
Approved, Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Final take in 3rd District: One candidate has misled with deception, half-truths and lies; we support vote for Hurd

By Editorial Board | Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Adam Frisch and the Democrats are at it again. In Colorado Congressional District 3, once again the Frisch campaign, in cahoots with the Colorado Democrats, is spending money and sending flyers to voters in support of a third-party candidate who can’t win. This time they are promoting Libertarian James Wiley, who is running in an attempt to suck votes away from Republican Jeff Hurd. The flyers promote Wiley as the only strong Trump supporter in the race, and mock Hurd’s long career as an attorney. They neglect to say that his work as an attorney was solely focused on fighting back against federal bureaucrats' overreaching regulations that were hurting local rural schools, farmers and ranchers,  and businesses in addi...
O’Dea: Prop 130 enables us to ensure Colorado community safety
Approved, coloradopolitics.com, Commentary, State

O’Dea: Prop 130 enables us to ensure Colorado community safety

By Joe O'Dea, Colorado Politics Our police officers are the cornerstone of our community’s safety. These men and women, who protect us every day, risk not only their lives, but the well-being of their families to serve us. Yet, it has become increasingly difficult to find individuals willing to make such sacrifices, and departments throughout the state are struggling to recruit and retain qualified officers. For these officers, not only are the risks high, but the rewards remain low. The average Colorado police officer’s salary is roughly $60,000, according to Zip Recruiter. And as the number of police per capita continues to fall, the danger they face rises. In fact, violent and property crime rates still remain higher than they were before the pandemic. For those ...
Tooker: How environmental groups are putting land and its inhabitants at risk
Approved, Commentary, National, Rocky Mountain Voice

Tooker: How environmental groups are putting land and its inhabitants at risk

By Aimee Tooker | Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Community leaders and residents in Southwestern Colorado and New Mexico oppose proposed national monument designations that would affect hundreds of thousands of acres. They oppose increased federal oversight and its limits on land use. Locals say that current land management practices have preserved nature and resources. They see no need for further federal intervention. This is about more than limiting local land use. Opponents see a systemic problem with the monument designation process. Local frustration has grown. The federal-driven proposals may limit public input and ultimately property rights. They lack community collaboration. In southwestern communities, management of federal lands is vital. It affects the well-being,...
It’s time to hold Griswold accountable
Approved, Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

It’s time to hold Griswold accountable

By Heidi Ganahl, Commentary | Rocky Mountain Voice In a troubling development, Colorado’s Secretary of State recently confirmed that critical election system passwords were inadvertently published online, leaving sensitive data exposed for months. This exposure, according to conservative leaders, highlights severe security concerns and a failure of transparency from the Secretary’s office, prompting calls for accountability and an independent investigation. The released passwords, typically reserved for only a small circle of trusted state employees, were accessible to a much broader audience, including county clerks, certain county employees, and third-party vendors. These passwords, particularly for the Basic Input/Output System (BIOS), provide access to fundamental system settings...
Devotional: Demons, dragons and disease, it all can be found in the Bible
Approved, Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice

Devotional: Demons, dragons and disease, it all can be found in the Bible

By DRAKE HUNTER | Devotional, Rocky Mountain Voice As the veil between worlds thins and shadows creep into our lives, we are reminded that the Bible is a treasure trove of thrilling tales that ignite fear and faith. From the fearsome beasts of the land to the monstrous leviathans of the sea (Psalms 74:14), Scripture invites us into a realm of unimaginable horrors and divine truths. Terror lurks on every page, with demons, dragons and disease prowling in cemeteries and the darkness. Yet amidst this chaos, we are beckoned to "Just Believe" in the One true God, who offers refuge and strength against life’s most chilling trials. Many struggle to comprehend the nature of terror as depicted in the Bible. Some envision God as an evil puppeteer, crafting nightmares like a mad scientist or...
Sloan: Biden’s latest foreign policy blunder in the Indian Ocean
Approved, Commentary, National, Rocky Mountain Voice

Sloan: Biden’s latest foreign policy blunder in the Indian Ocean

By Kelly Sloan | Contributing Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice I know no one is supposed to like former National Security Advisor John Bolton anymore –- on the left, because he was mean to countries that don’t like us in the UN, and on the right because… well, because Donald Trump said so. However, he was the guy, after all, who was prescient enough to once quip that if you were to lop off the top 10 stories of the U.N. building, not much would be missed. This was shortly before President George W. Bush made the decision (one of his best) to assign Bolton as U.S. ambassador to the U.N., where he served with a singularity shared by the likes of Daniel Patrick Moynihan and Jeane Kirkpatrick; and later went on to write a book, “Surrender is not an Option”, which comes as close to anythi...
Kalam: From the river to the statehouse, Rep. Iman Jodeh’s divided loyalties
Approved, Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Kalam: From the river to the statehouse, Rep. Iman Jodeh’s divided loyalties

By Ahnaf Kalam | Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice There are few things in politics more damning than silence in the face of evil. Rep. Iman Jodeh’s absence from a key legislative meeting in February 2024, where Colorado lawmakers met with families of victims of Hamas's Oct. 7 massacre, is one such silence. Coupled with her prior actions and rhetoric, it reveals a troubling pattern: Jodeh’s activism for Palestine does not simply overshadow her responsibilities to her constituents, but appears to align — intentionally or not — with justifications for terror. When Jodeh first ran for office, I expressed concerns in The American Spectator that she would place her activism for Palestine above her duty to serve Colorado’s House District 41. Unfortunately, recent events have proven th...
Hemingway: Jake Tapper is lying about CNN’s key role in the Russia Collusion hoax
Approved, Commentary, National, The Federalist

Hemingway: Jake Tapper is lying about CNN’s key role in the Russia Collusion hoax

By Mollie Hemingway, Commentary | The Federalist On Jan. 12, 2017, I appeared on a CNN panel to discuss current events. It was memorable, and not just because we were taping from the roof of a building near the U.S. Capitol as part of the outlet’s special coverage of Trump’s first inauguration. Just as we were about to go on, we were significantly delayed by President Barack Obama surprising Vice President Joe Biden with a Presidential Medal of Freedom. As I recall, there were maybe five or six of us on set, including former Obama political appointee Jim Sciutto and host Jake Tapper, two of the four authors of the most important story of the entire Russia collusion hoax. “Intel chiefs presented Trump with claims of Russian efforts to compromise him” had been published just ...
Marshall: Farmers and ranchers, the backbone of America, are turning to Trump to deliver
Approved, Commentary, National, Newsweek

Marshall: Farmers and ranchers, the backbone of America, are turning to Trump to deliver

By Roger Marshall | Commentary, Newsweek Our farmers and ranchers are the backbone of our economy. Sadly, under the Biden-Harris administration, farmers, ranchers, and rural America have been sidelined. As a Kansan and fifth-generation farm kid, who now serves on the Senate Agriculture Committee, the very idea of a candidate who doesn't understand the value of agriculture is unfit to hold the nuclear codes. Food security is national security, and we need a leader in the White House who realizes the importance of agriculture, trade deals, and the "art of the deal" that gives America the upper hand. For four years, the Biden-Harris administration has declared war on American agriculture. Their reckless policies have plunged net farm income to its lowest point in decades. The ...