Rocky Mountain Voice

Rocky Mountain Voice

Gaines: Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser on Trump directives vs. his Red Flag Law position
Approved, Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice

Gaines: Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser on Trump directives vs. his Red Flag Law position

By Cory Gaines | Guest Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project I saw a recent CPR article about the conflict between Trump's directives on immigration and Colorado's sanctuary state laws. In that article, the reporter put up a statement by our own Colorado Attorney General (and gubernatorial candidate) Phil Weiser. That statement is in the screenshot linked above. I thought it would make an interesting contrast to compare what AG Weiser said re. Trump policy vs. Colorado sanctuary law to what AG Weiser said not too long after passage of Colorado's Red Flag Law. I found a couple of CPR articles with quotes from AG Weiser. Both date to 2019, the year of passage for the first iteration of the Red Flag Law. The second link below is to an April 1, 2019 article and the third is t...
McKenna: Courts will likely decide birthright citizenship, but better route would be constitutional amendment
Approved, Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice

McKenna: Courts will likely decide birthright citizenship, but better route would be constitutional amendment

By Stephen C. McKenna | Guest Commentary, themckennaproject.com Colorado recently joined twenty-one other states in suing the federal government over President Trump’s Executive Order ending birthright citizenship. Setting aside for a moment the argument of whether the 14th Amendment guarantees birthright citizenship, I am wondering why so many claim to be so outraged by the idea. In Colorado’s case, it cannot be because gubernatorial candidate Attorney General Phil Weiser has a deep and abiding respect for the constitution. He and Secretary of State Jena Griswold, who is also eyeing the governor’s mansion, embarrassed Colorado by trying to remove Trump from the 2024 ballot, which the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) ruled 9-0 was unconstitutional. These politicians appear...
Rep. Luck’s bill to increase transparency in legislation gains broad committee support
Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Rep. Luck’s bill to increase transparency in legislation gains broad committee support

By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice If you are not a political insider, the two-month period between electing your state lawmakers to the General Assembly and the filing of bills as the state legislature begins might be filled with radio silence. That's the point of a bill from Rep. Stephanie Luck, a Southern Colorado Republican in District 60. House Bill 25-1069 would seek to increase transparency in the legislative process for all Coloradans. It was heard Monday in the House's State, Civic, Military & Veterans Affairs Committee. The bill would create an online forum for a member of the General Assembly to voluntarily share drafts or titles of bills being considered with the public. "Our constituents seek more than just periodic updates," said Democrat Eliza Hamrick, a ...
Colorado Farm Show is Jan. 28-30 at Island Grove Regional Park in Greeley
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Colorado Farm Show is Jan. 28-30 at Island Grove Regional Park in Greeley

By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice A winter rite of passage in agriculture returns this week, as the Colorado Farm Show takes place at Island Grove Regional Park in Greeley. The three-day exhibition of farm and ranch equipment, vendors, exhibits, seminars and more takes place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 28, and Wednesday, Jan. 29, and from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 30. Admission is free. A $5 fee for parking assists in funding of youth agricultural scholarships. Read the full schedule of events HERE. See the list of scholarship recipients HERE. See exhibitor maps HERE. See the Greeley Tribune's Farm Show Guide HERE.
‘Top shelf’ lawmaker Rep. Dan Woog finds inspiration at capitol from his collegiate hockey past
Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

‘Top shelf’ lawmaker Rep. Dan Woog finds inspiration at capitol from his collegiate hockey past

By Jen Schumann | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice Dan Woog doesn’t hesitate when asked which hit was harder — one on the ice as a hockey player or one in politics as an elected official. “Hockey taught me resilience,” said Woog, a former collegiate athlete from Minnesota and the newly-elected House District 19 state representative. “As an athlete, you never quit. You practice, work hard and learn to work with people you might not always agree with.” These lessons prepared him for the highs and lows of his political journey, including his 2022 re-election loss. Hockey, Woog explained, also instilled a drive to persevere through setbacks: “I just believe in the will,” he said. “If we have the will and never give up, great things can happen.”  That drive brought ...
Garbo: When taxation becomes extortion, we should expose the abuse of power in Colorado’s budget crisis
Approved, Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice

Garbo: When taxation becomes extortion, we should expose the abuse of power in Colorado’s budget crisis

By C. J. Garbo | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Taxation, at its core, is meant to serve a noble purpose. Governments levy taxes to fund essential services, protect citizens, and ensure the infrastructure of a functioning society. However, there is a fine line between taxation and extortion — a line that is crossed when the power to tax is abused, funds are squandered, and citizens are burdened with excessive financial demands for the benefit of a select few. When those in power exploit taxation to enrich themselves, preserve their influence or mask fiscal irresponsibility, taxation ceases to be a tool for the public good and devolves into an instrument of oppression. This dangerous shift is not new, nor is it without profound moral and spiritual implications. To unders...
Letter asks Gov. Polis to lead repeal of three laws he signed which created state immigration sanctuary
Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Letter asks Gov. Polis to lead repeal of three laws he signed which created state immigration sanctuary

By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice Whether Gov. Jared Polis means what he says is the subject of a recent joint letter from three Republican members of the U.S. House to the governor. The letter dated Jan. 17, 2025, references the governor's pledge in his State of the State address to "welcome more federal help to detain and deport dangerous criminals". The statement stands in opposition to three pieces of legislation law enforcement often say tells a different story. The letter, authored on U.S. Rep. Gabe Evans letterhead, and additionally signed by U.S. Reps. Lauren Boebert and Jeff Crank, takes the governor's comments at face value. "This is undoubtedly welcome news to Coloradans, who have watched the sanctuary state policies you signed negatively impact our state — f...
Garfield County commissioners ‘demand a pause’ in wolf reintroduction program
Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Garfield County commissioners ‘demand a pause’ in wolf reintroduction program

By Lindy Browning | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice Tom Jankovsky, Mike Samson and Perry Will are setting the standard. The Garfield County commissioners are doing what some say commissioners in every county should do for their constituencies who voted against the 2020 ballot initiative to reintroduce wolves to Western Colorado.  In a press release on Jan. 21, 2025, the commissioners announced they had written a letter to Gov. Jared Polis and Colorado Parks and Wildlife, requesting that the agency reconsider its approach to releasing grey wolves on the Western Slope. “The Board of County Commissioners’ letter demands a pause in the reintroduction of wolves to ensure the program is working, that impacts to ranchers be mitigated, and that people have the right to defend...
Complaints against Pueblo Co. Democrats, alleging failure to report $5.2M in revenue and building expenses, go unanswered
Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Complaints against Pueblo Co. Democrats, alleging failure to report $5.2M in revenue and building expenses, go unanswered

By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice A pair of complaints against the Pueblo County Democratic Party for failure to report revenue and expenses, as required by state law, have thus far gone unanswered by party officials, according to Tracer and the complainant. One of the complaints was first levied in October. Jonathan Ambler, who ran as the Republican nominee in House District 46 in 2018, 2020 and 2022, filed two separate complaints against the Pueblo County Democrats related to violation of campaign finance laws. The Colorado Secretary of State's Elections Division has performed initial investigation into the complaints. The initial complaint, No. ED2024-77, was filed Oct. 16, 2024, as a result of a Pueblo Chieftain newspaper article related to the finances of the two maj...
Shamblin: President Trump pardons pro-life political prisoners for crime of peacefully protesting
Approved, Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice

Shamblin: President Trump pardons pro-life political prisoners for crime of peacefully protesting

By Scott Shamblin | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice In a monumental victory for the pro-life movement and justice itself, President Donald J. Trump has officially pardoned several pro-life political prisoners who were unjustly persecuted for their unwavering defense of the unborn. President Trump’s decision to pardon 23 pro-life political prisoners marks a turning point in the battle for justice. These elderly grandparents, sons, daughters, mothers and fathers, were not violent criminals but peaceful advocates for the unborn, unfairly targeted by the Biden Administration’s discriminatory enforcement of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act. Their crime? Exercising their 1st Amendment rights in defense of innocent life. The FACE Act, passed in 1994, was suppos...