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Tag: Government Accountability

What Would Colorado’s Declaration Of Independence Say Today?
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Complete Colorado, Approved, Commentary, State

What Would Colorado’s Declaration Of Independence Say Today?

By: Jon Caldara | Commentary, Complete Colorado Happy 250th Birthday, America! You look fabulous. As all the cool countries are saying, “250 is the new 230.” The Declaration of Independence wasn’t merely an announcement of war against a tyrant. It was the most revolutionary political document ever written. The Declaration was a landmark in human development, perhaps the landmark of all human history. For the first time government was no longer affirmed sovereign. The individual was. That simple idea changed the world. You rule yourself. Your life belongs to you. Your liberty belongs to you. Your happiness is yours to pursue as you define it. Your property belongs to you. Government exists not to rule over you, but to secure your&n...
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Who’s guiding Colorado’s Medicaid Commission? A closer look at the panel shaping future policy
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Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

Who’s guiding Colorado’s Medicaid Commission? A closer look at the panel shaping future policy

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project Meet the Medicaid Commission and their newly-hired advisor. Medicaid is a big line item in the state’s budget. It’s gotten so big, and eaten up so much of our state’s money, that our legislature has gathered up a commission. SB26-187 (linked first below) creates a (quoting from the bill summary): “… commission on Medicaid (commission) to develop recommendations regarding implementation of new federal Medicaid policy changes that go into effect in 2026, 2027, and 2028 and to support Coloradans impacted by those policy changes.” This commission will meet a few times and prepare a report to be used by the legislature in the 2027 session. Quoting from the bill’s fiscal note: “Between May 13, 2026, and December...
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Who will shape Colorado’s 2030 census? Nonprofit funding raises questions
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Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

Who will shape Colorado’s 2030 census? Nonprofit funding raises questions

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project And a nonprofit shall lead them.... The Sky Hi article linked first below details how the State of Colorado plans to get out there ahead of the 2030 census to make sure we get all the “hard to count” residents we can. The census is critically important to our state. So many things from political representation to federal money to state programs run off the data the census produces. It’s probably not a surprise, then, that the state wants to get out there and make sure we count as many people as possible. And as you can see by checking a nearby calendar, we’re starting early. These counting efforts are not new. I wrote a newsletter back in 2025 (see the second link below if you want the context), covering h...
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Are Colorado DOR employees letting personal gun control views shape official messaging?
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Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

Are Colorado DOR employees letting personal gun control views shape official messaging?

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project I hesitate to be too strong in my contention, and I hesitate to use the phrase “deep state,” but I am beginning to get an intuition that employees at the Colorado Department of Revenue (DOR) are letting their values on gun control mix in with their jobs. Even this scaled-down wording is a pretty big accusation, so let me defend why I’m starting to feel this way. The first and most obvious is their list of weapons you’ll need a government permission slip to buy under SB25-003 (something I’ve covered multiple times in the past, but if you’d like to see a recent discussion between Jon Caldara and Ray Elliott of the Colorado State Shooting Association on the topic, see “Related” below). The second part goes all th...
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How USAID funding helped build political influence networks around the world
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DataRepublican, Approved, Commentary, National

How USAID funding helped build political influence networks around the world

By DataRepublican | DataRepublican’s Substack Everyone is arguing about whether USAID was wasteful. Nobody is explaining what it was actually for. Yesterday the Daily Caller ran a piece noting that since Trump gutted USAID, right-wing candidates have swept Bolivia, Chile, Honduras, Costa Rica, Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia. The left hasn’t won a single Latin American presidential election since the funding stopped. Meanwhile, Ro Khanna went on a podcast and said Elon Musk “possibly sentenced to death” 4.5 million children by dismantling USAID. Musk threatened to sue him. The right points to USAID grants for transgender operas in Colombia and DEI workshops in Serbia and asks why American taxpayers were funding them. The left points to children...
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RTD faces $250M deficit as taxpayers ask where the money went
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ScottKJames.com, Approved, Commentary, State

RTD faces $250M deficit as taxpayers ask where the money went

By Scott K. James | Commentary, ScottKJames.com RTD may have real financial trouble, but riders and taxpayers deserve plain answers before service cuts or another ballot ask. Here is a sentence every taxpayer understands: Great, so I may get less service and still be asked for more money. That is the kitchen-table translation of RTD’s latest problem. Denver7 reports that the Regional Transportation District board is looking at ways to close a $250 million budget deficit, including possible service reductions and a future ballot measure for more revenue. RTD says it has been operating at a deficit since federal COVID-19 relief money ran out in 2024, and the current path is not sustainable. Well, yes. Temporary money has a bad habit of being temporary. I reali...
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An open letter to the 10th Circuit on free speech and the First Amendment
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Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

An open letter to the 10th Circuit on free speech and the First Amendment

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project The 10th Circuit of Court of Appeals got it wrong on free speech -- an open letter Similar to what Lincoln said of himself — I’m a slow walker but I don’t walk backwards — I often get busy with life and have to shelve writing projects without letting them go. I wrote back in early May about a decision rendered by the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals on legislative immunity. That newsletter is linked first below. The second link is to the judge’s decision. At the time, I wrote the clerk of the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals and asked how it was that one could send in feedback to the judges on their decision. The clerk said that you can either email them to [email protected], or mail them to the ...
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Whoever holds power, Colorado records should remain public
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Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

Whoever holds power, Colorado records should remain public

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project CFOIC updates their CORA/Open Meetings guide CFOIC has been a great help to me in learning how to do public records requests (and they continue to be as I encounter issues with getting records, etc.). They recently updated their excellent guide on open records requests and open meetings law based on recent changes. It’s linked at bottom. If you are doing requests or thinking about it, bookmark it. In the spirit of paying forward the help I received, I am happy to help you in what ways I can if you are thinking of doing some records requests and/or if you have a topic you want to investigate but don’t know where to start. Message me or email through my newsletter. https://coloradofoic.org/op...
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Rand Paul Releases Records Alleging Years of NIH Biosafety Failures
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Just The News, Approved, National

Rand Paul Releases Records Alleging Years of NIH Biosafety Failures

By Amanda Head | Just The News New documents released by Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Chairman Rand Paul, R-Ky., reveal that two National Institutes of Health scientists were charged with conspiring to smuggle monkeypox virus samples into the United States after returning from the Congo. The documents released by Congress revealed a decade of warnings and workarounds in the handling of dangerous pathogens.  In January, NIH Rocky Mountain Laboratories virologists Vincent Munster and Claude Kwe arrived at Detroit Metropolitan Airport from the Republic of the Congo, where a monkeypox outbreak was active.  On arrival, they declared that a large black case contained only “diagnostics and testing equipment.” Federal investigators later ...
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