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Walcher: How the ‘Roadless Rule’ fuels forest destruction
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GregWalcher.com, Approved, Commentary, National

Walcher: How the ‘Roadless Rule’ fuels forest destruction

By Greg Walcher | Commentary, GregWalcher.com Gertrude Stein wrote her oft-repeated line “A rose is a rose is a rose…” in a 1913 poem. She explained it as meaning “things are what they are.” But what if it’s called something else? That was Juliet’s question to Romeo: “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet.” Shakespeare argued that whatever we call something, it is still what it is. Would that such common sense had been applied during 30 years of political arguments over which national forest lands were “roadless.” And what exactly should be considered a road. Anyone who thought that issue long since resolved got a wakeup call with this year’s catastrophic California wildfires that killed 24 people, destroyed 1,400 homes, and refocused ...
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Garbo: Why real conservatism demands judgment, not just an algorithm
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Approved, Commentary, State, Top Stories

Garbo: Why real conservatism demands judgment, not just an algorithm

By C. J. Garbo | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice In Colorado political circles, the Liberty Scorecard has become a popular benchmark for judging whether a state legislator is a “true conservative.” It’s cited in primaries, shared in campaign materials, and weaponized in internal party battles. On its face, it’s a helpful tool - shining light on legislative votes and offering a snapshot of where elected officials land on key liberty-related issues. Used wisely, it can inform voters and hold lawmakers accountable. But here’s the problem: many conservatives are no longer using the Liberty Scorecard as a tool. They’re using it as a final verdict. This shift from tool to litmus test is not only unwise - it’s politically self-defeating. Treating the Liberty Scorecard as the defi...
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Jerkovich: Latest poll confirms Democrats are losing the middle
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Red State, Approved, Commentary, National

Jerkovich: Latest poll confirms Democrats are losing the middle

By Katie Jerkovich | RedState Democrats have been something to watch since President Donald Trump's victory in November, and a new poll shows their antics attempting to resist everything about President Trump's second term, from anti-ICE protests to blocking the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill, have backfired. A new I&I/TIPP Insights poll found that most voters see the Democrat Party as "too radical." And with the likes of Rep. Alexandria-Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) parading radical Muslim socialist Zohran Mamdani around Washington, D.C, after his victory in New York City's Democrat mayoral primary race, is it really any wonder why they feel that way? As RedState reported, people like veteran Democratic strategist James Carville have tried to sound the alarm...
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Anderson: The Union Isn’t Fighting for Kids Anymore—It’s Fighting for Control
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Approved, Commentary, Local, Top Stories

Anderson: The Union Isn’t Fighting for Kids Anymore—It’s Fighting for Control

By Christy Anderson | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Contracts. Impasse. Mediation. Oh my!  We’ve all seen the headlines, the crowd of red shirts, and the talking points about “fighting for teachers and students.” But as a teacher—and a former union member—I’m here to tell you: what’s happening with the Mesa Valley Education Association (MVEA) isn’t about students. It’s political theatre, and it’s about control.  Let’s start with a bit of history.  Teacher unions were initially formed to give educators a voice in working conditions. In the early 20th century, teachers—primarily women—were underpaid, lacked job security, and had no influence in how schools were run. The National Education Association (NEA), founded in 1857, and the American Federation of T...
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Gaines: Net migration math doesn’t lie—Denver’s policies aren’t working
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Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, Local

Gaines: Net migration math doesn’t lie—Denver’s policies aren’t working

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project Small wonder on Denver's Net Migration A recent report by the conservative-leaning Common Sense Institute (see the CPR article linked first below), has it that Denver's net migration -- inflow take away outflow -- has fallen over 50% in the last decade.Keep in mind that the net migration is still positive, more people are coming than leaving, but we have a decrease in the increase. Quoting the article (with link left intact): "The state's population growth has declined by nearly 53% in the past 10 years, according to a new report released by the Common Sense Institute, a non-partisan research organization. The study measured net migration, which is the difference between people moving into the state and peo...
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James: Metro elites power down rural Colorado energy while calling it a ‘just transition’
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ScottKJames.com, Approved, Commentary, State

James: Metro elites power down rural Colorado energy while calling it a ‘just transition’

By Scott K. James | Commentary, ScottKJames.com As Craig faces a coal plant shutdown, rural Colorado communities are being gutted in the name of environmental virtue-signaling. Jobs, power, and people are being discarded—and the so-called “just transition” is anything but. Rural Colorado towns like Craig are being sacrificed on the altar of metro-area environmental guilt—and no amount of “just transition” branding is going to save them. In a July 19, 2025, piece for The Denver Gazette, reporter Scott Weiser rather artfully dives into the coming shutdown of Tri-State’s Craig Station—one of the largest coal-fired power plants in the state—and the ripple effect it’s having on energy, jobs, and entire communities. It’s a wonderfully written story, but the outcome sucks. Mean...
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Vivanco: How the empty outrage over Medicaid reform misses the point
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Real Clear Politics, Approved, Commentary, National

Vivanco: How the empty outrage over Medicaid reform misses the point

By Bautista Vivanco | Commentary, Real Clear Politics Democrats bemoaning the loss of Medicaid coverage are glossing over a critical fact: States could fund the program themselves if they wanted to. The truth is, Medicaid is not nearly as popular as the taxes needed to keep it afloat. There is a lot to complain about Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill (BBB), signed into law last week. For example, it will add trillions to the deficit while allocating billions to be used for deporting hard-working immigrants and even American citizens. Yet Democrats are denouncing it not for its lack of fiscal responsibility, but rather for one of its only positive provisions: its reforms to Medicaid. Original versions of the bill included various reforms to Medicaid, like work...
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Saunders: Bureaucracy and Billions Deliver Just Seven EV Stations Nationwide
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National, Approved, Commentary, The Western Journal

Saunders: Bureaucracy and Billions Deliver Just Seven EV Stations Nationwide

By Joe Saunders | Commentary, The Western Journal When it comes to case studies in government incompetence, former President Joe Biden’s administration is a master class. Whether it was disastrous foreign policies like the withdrawal from Afghanistan, or disastrous domestic ideas like opening the southern border to an invasion of illegal immigrants from all over the globe, the Biden years were a lesson in the limitations of Democratic rule. Now, a new report from the Government Accountability Office is driving the message home in a way any American who drives can understand. The report released Tuesday shows the Biden administration’s $7.5 billion program created by the 2021 infrastructure bill to provide public chargers for electric vehicle use had managed, by April of this ye...
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Hunter: The Prince of Darkness and the Light of the World
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Top Stories, Approved, Commentary, National, Rocky Mountain Voice

Hunter: The Prince of Darkness and the Light of the World

By Drake Hunter | Commentary, RMV NE CO Newsroom, Rocky Mountain Voice Giving Thanks in Evil Times — A Tribute to Ozzy Osbourne and the Goodness That Guides Us They called him the Prince of Darkness, a man whose voice shook stadiums and whose image terrified a generation of churchgoers. Ozzy Osbourne was never the poster child for purity. He bit bats, howled at moons, and lived through headlines that left even the tabloids gasping. And yet, strangely enough, it was Ozzy—not a pastor or prophet—who helped spark a light in my soul.  Not because of his music, necessarily, though I played more than my fair share of "Bark at the Moon" and "Crazy Train," but because of the man behind the madness. It wasn’t his heavy metal thunder that broke through my walls. It was his humanity....
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DiGirolamo: Teen sexting—What every parent needs to know
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Approved, Commentary, National, Top Stories

DiGirolamo: Teen sexting—What every parent needs to know

By John DiGirolamo | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice How Teens Make It Worse: Taylor Swift wrote that when you’re fifteen, and someone tells you they love you, you’re going to believe them. Almost twenty years later, a teen’s definition of love and what’s fun and flirty now includes sending nude images.  The number one activity where teens contribute to their own detriment is sexting. According to the nonprofit Fight the New Drug, most teens have viewed pornography, with the average age of exposure at eleven years old. If explicit images are viewed frequently and at a young age, sending and receiving nude pictures become normalized. Over 90% of teens have sent or received explicit images by the time they graduate high school. 53% of boys and 39% of girls believe pornog...
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