Rocky Mountain Voice

Commentary

Charlie Kirk is on the ballot in 2026, as he should be.
PJ Media, Approved, Commentary, National

Charlie Kirk is on the ballot in 2026, as he should be.

By Tim O’Brien | Commentary, PJ Media The Charlie Kirk assassination upended a lot of the common tenets of politics, not to mention the unsaid rules of a civil society. Not too long ago, it was universally considered taboo to celebrate the death of anyone, yet thanks to social media and the Left, we’ve all seen people we know, people who teach our children and treat our health, dance and sing and celebrate a murder. The vast majority of Americans, usually silent at times like this, are feeling a percolating rage build up. Many everyday Americans have decided to channel this energy by reporting the online murder celebrants to their employers, leading to many getting fired. This is unprecedented, and it’s just the beginning.  Conservatives don’t riot in the streets an...
Texas takes bold stand against radical teachers after 100+ hit list discovered
The Western Journal, Approved, Commentary, National

Texas takes bold stand against radical teachers after 100+ hit list discovered

By Johnathan Jones | Commentary, The Western Journal Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott confirmed on social media Monday that more than 100 teachers in his state are being removed from the classroom. These educators will lose their jobs, their teaching certificates, and the ability to ever lead students astray in Texas again. Their offense? Glorifying or celebrating the horrific assassination of Charlie Kirk last week. Abbott responded to a post on X that claimed Texas Education Agency Commissioner Mike Morath was investigating teachers. Morath made clear where the state stands. “While all educators are held to a high standard of professionalism, there is a difference between comments made in poor taste and those that call for and incite further violence — th...
Is the Colorado Economy More of a Train Wreck than it Currently Appears?
Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, State, Top Stories

Is the Colorado Economy More of a Train Wreck than it Currently Appears?

By Mike O’Donnell | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Given all the sad news last week, a September 9 press release from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) announcing a major downward revision in job numbers for March 2024 to March 2025 was understandably overlooked. The serious implications the announcement had for the national and especially the Colorado economies still, nonetheless, remain today. Revisions to BLS jobs numbers are normal and happen annually because the monthly estimates of how many new jobs are being created or lost in the economy come from surveys of around 121,000 businesses representing about 631,000 individual worksites. Because companies come and go, the BLS combines their survey data with estimates of how many net new jobs are being created at ...
The Union vs. Students: Why I Walked Away
Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, National, Top Stories

The Union vs. Students: Why I Walked Away

By Priscilla Rahn, M.Ed, NBCT | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice For 32 years I poured my life into teaching, believing the teachers’ union stood for students and educators like me. But somewhere along the way, the mission shifted—from strengthening classrooms to fueling politics. That’s when I knew I had to walk away. I look back on a career that began in Texas in the early 1990s, where my starting salary was a meager $18,000 a year—barely enough to cover student loans, a car payment, gas, rent, food, and utilities after dividing it into 24 paychecks, leaving me with about $700 every two weeks. I was immediately pressured to join the teachers' union, but with no extra money for dues, I declined. It wasn't until I moved to Colorado that I joined, convinced I needed liabilit...
RFK Jr. and Dr. Oz unveil $50B plan to transform collapsing rural health care
USA Today, Approved, Commentary, National

RFK Jr. and Dr. Oz unveil $50B plan to transform collapsing rural health care

By Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Dr. Mehmet Oz | Commentary, USA Today Rural America deserves a health care system built for reality, not one that's made up of urban leftovers that leave rural health care needs as an afterthought. Despite higher rates of chronic disease in rural areas vs. their urban counterparts, rural America's health care infrastructure is collapsing. Since 2010, about 150 rural hospitals have closed or been converted to other facilities, and fewer than 4 in 10 rural hospital beds are typically occupied – substantially less than urban areas. Rather than repeating the mistakes of the past, President Donald Trump's administration will deliver unprecedented investments to rebuild rural health care infrastructure and address the root cause...
Colorado Democrats push ‘progressive tax’ while low-income families already carry heavier burden
Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

Colorado Democrats push ‘progressive tax’ while low-income families already carry heavier burden

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project Progressive tax myths vs. reality. There's been a lot of noise about a bunch of progressive groups pushing a ballot measure to change our income tax structure from a flat tax (where all income brackets pay the same percentage) to a progressive one (where you pay more income tax as a percent and in absolute terms if you earn more).If you want an example article and some context, see the Sun article linked first below.I wanted to offer you a couple resources from a fiscally conservative (and frankly reality-based) perspective to counter what will likely be a blitz on the topic in the media and elsewhere. A couple resources to help you better advocate against this wrongheaded policy.There are two Complete Colorado op eds l...
Endorsing Violence Is Not Protected Speech and Employers Know It
The Federalist, Approved, Commentary, National

Endorsing Violence Is Not Protected Speech and Employers Know It

By Jordan Boyd | Commentary, The Federalist Celebrating the brutal murder of a civilian lacks morals and requires far more accountability than mere ‘cancel culture’ can afford. As if Americans’ trust in corporate media weren’t eroded enough, Axios set out to further destroy what’s left of it by suggesting that firing the people who cheered on Charlie Kirk’s assassination is of the same magnitude as school shootings and other acts of violence. The egregious comparison, which made its debut in Mike Allen’s AM newsletter, suggests that the tens of thousands of people who were caught cheering and mocking Kirk’s murder didn’t deserve the “unprecedented online hunt … to name, shame and contact” their employers that ensued. Axios is not alone in pretending that statements such as ...
State school trust lands were meant to fund education, not environmental agendas
GregWalcher.com, Approved, Commentary, State

State school trust lands were meant to fund education, not environmental agendas

By Greg Walcher | GregWalcher.com A land ownership checkerboard exists in nearly every state because of an oddity called “state school trust lands.” The federal government granted those lands at the time of statehood, under the Land Ordinance of 1785. Thomas Jefferson’s system divides and records land into townships, each with 36 one-square-mile sections. New states entering the union were each given 2 sections per township, to be held in trust to fund public schools. State Land Boards were created to manage those lands – in my state of Colorado it’s 4 million acres. The Board was charged with administering the lands “in such a manner as will secure the maximum possible amount” for the school fund. The Lincoln Institute of Public Lands explains, “That singularity of purpose continues...
After Charlie Kirk’s death Gen Z can’t stay indifferent
The Federalist, Approved, Commentary, National

After Charlie Kirk’s death Gen Z can’t stay indifferent

By Brooke Brandtjen | Commentary, The Federalist Gen Z isn’t going to tolerate the horrific death of Charlie Kirk. Their whole lives they’ve been told forced tolerance will give them safety. Doubtlessly, a new age has just begun. Most of Gen Z was nothing more than a twinkle in their parents’ eyes when 9/11 occurred. They never lived in a version of America without the Transportation Security Administration or looming terrorist threats. They were born into the aftermath, a world filled with warnings. Don’t play outside unsupervised, don’t take candy from strangers, don’t sit on a bus with your headphones on. Zoomers are well accustomed to a world where safety is the primary concern because threats are always dangling nearby. They were raised in the era of “cancel culture” and c...
Board of Education clash over science standards reveals how politics steers Colorado classrooms on climate change
Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

Board of Education clash over science standards reveals how politics steers Colorado classrooms on climate change

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project Politicizing climate change Let me start with a quote from the CPR article linked at bottom. The article is about how the Colorado State Board of Education recently amended science standards. "The board’s lengthy discussion reflects how a topic the scientific community agrees on — that human activities cause global warming — can become political outside of scientific circles." The article then proceeds to detail how conservative/Republican members of the Board of Ed sought amendments to some of the science standards around global warming. There is, conversely, little to nothing about the liberal/Democratic board members, save for some snappy comebacks included by CPR's Brundin. As for the Republican members, th...