Government overreach

Polis’ ‘libertarian’ label faces reality check from Reason Magazine

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DENVER — Amidst ongoing battles within his own party, and despite recently vetoing a pair of bills that concentrated more authority in Colorado state government, Jared Polis’ carefully scripted reputation as a libertarian-leaning governor appears to be fading.

Even Reason Magazine, the national media outlet that has for years has hung its hat on the idea that Polis is more liberty-minded than progressive, is now questioning whether Polis’ moderate temperament is real, with editor-at-large Nick Gillepsie tugging back on Polis’ libertarian card in an April 14 article asking if the “small government Democrat is beefing up state power.”

Polis’ ‘libertarian’ label faces reality check from Reason Magazine Read More »

Green: Report card for Colorado’s collapse under one-party rule—straight F’s across the board

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Colorado’s economic report card is in, and my beloved home state — formerly a solid A and B student — just flunked every subject. 

Once upon a time, Colorado was a devilishly weird purple state — home to moderate-to-conservative Republicans like Ben Nighthorse Campbell and Tom Tancredo, idiosyncratic Democrats like Gary Hart and Richard Lamm, and (outside the Denver-Boulder Axis) a healthy libertarian streak.

Green: Report card for Colorado’s collapse under one-party rule—straight F’s across the board Read More »

Walcher: The “sky is falling” water narrative doesn’t hold water

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Every year for the past 25, at least, negotiating teams for the seven states on the Colorado River have worked to overcome a new crisis, invariably driven by two entities: the State of California and the federal Bureau of Reclamation (BOR).

For a quarter-century, those teams have responded to federal pressure based on the dubious theory that an ongoing drought, and a resulting decline in the river’s flow, somehow changed the law and gave BOR authority to ignore the Interstate Compact.

Walcher: The “sky is falling” water narrative doesn’t hold water Read More »

Enos: If parents can’t challenge books or protect embryos, who will?

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The majority in the Colorado General Assembly seems to have caught the attention of the Trump Administration. The U.S. Department of Education spokeswoman Julie Hartman told the Daily Signal that “Children do not belong to the government. They belong to parents.” 

Then, on March 28th of this year, Secretary of Education Linda McMahon sent a letter to educators that included the following statement: “Under President Trump’s leadership, my Department will no longer passively accept school officials’ hostility to parental involvement. The Department stands with parents in exercising their rights to the full extent of the law.”

This may be news to Colorado’s General Assembly.

Enos: If parents can’t challenge books or protect embryos, who will? Read More »

Caldara: Nothing’s more expensive than “free” school lunch

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A key part of the planned march toward socialism is, of course, endless propaganda.

It’s not enough just to rely on the politics of envy. We need to take away those dangerous little opportunities where young people might accidentally experience the benefit of the free market in their fledgling lives. So how can we teach children to participate in class warfare, punish the productive by taking their stuff and that property rights and free exchange don’t exist?

Enter Colorado’s oversubscribed, already broke (as all redistribution schemes become) “free” school lunch program. Who could have guessed a $50 million take-from-thy-neighbor scheme would quickly cost $150 million?

Caldara: Nothing’s more expensive than “free” school lunch Read More »

The COvid Chronicles April 16–30: From tattletales to tyranny in just 14 days

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If the first two weeks of April 2020 made it clear to Coloradans their state was forever changed and would not be going back to the way it was any time soon, the later part of the month crystalized just how difficult earning back any God-given constitutional rights and freedoms would prove to be.

Much of that had to do with the heavy-handedness of Gov. Jared Polis, elected officials and unelected bureaucrats who weren’t keen on relinquishing their newfound regal powers over the people. 

More concerning was the increasing dogma from Coloradan to Coloradan, neighbor to neighbor, family member to family member. As Colorado’s COVID reopening quandary deepened, our sense of community was crushed.

The COvid Chronicles April 16–30: From tattletales to tyranny in just 14 days Read More »

Clock runs out on social media bill: lawmakers shield themselves and Polis from historic override

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Without casting a single “no” vote, Colorado lawmakers on April 28 killed a bipartisan attempt to override Governor Jared Polis’ veto of a social media regulation bill. Just days earlier, the Senate had voted 29–6 to override the veto of Senate Bill 25-086, marking the state’s first successful chamber override of a policy bill in more than a decade. 

Clock runs out on social media bill: lawmakers shield themselves and Polis from historic override Read More »

Not political theater: Montrose federal intervention request grounded in Constitutional oath

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What does it mean to defend the Constitution? Two commissioners say this is what it looks like. On April 16, the Montrose County Board of County Commissioners voted 2–1 to send a formal Request for Federal Intervention to former President Donald Trump, Attorney General Pam Bondi, and the U.S. Supreme Court.

Not political theater: Montrose federal intervention request grounded in Constitutional oath Read More »

Hancock: HB25-1312 replaces truth with dogma and calls it progress

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From the rugged ridgelines of the Rockies now echoes a different kind of thunder — not from the skies above, but from the marble halls of Colorado’s State Capitol, where lawmakers are ushering in a bill that feels less like legislation and more like dogma.

House Bill 25-1312, ostentatiously named the “Kelly Loving Act,” is heralded as a civil rights measure. But dig past the buzzwords and you’ll find something far more troubling: a secular creed imposed with such fervor it borders on religious zealotry — and as such, possibly violates the U.S. Constitution’s Establishment Clause.

Hancock: HB25-1312 replaces truth with dogma and calls it progress Read More »

The COvid Chronicles: Fifteen days that changed Colorado forever

Rocky Mountain Voice, Approved, Commentary, State, Top Stories / / , , , , ,

Colorado changed overnight.

In the first two weeks of April 2020, headlines shifted from public health to public control. Behind the fear and mandates were decisions—made daily—that reshaped lives and redefined freedom.

This is the record.

The COvid Chronicles: Fifteen days that changed Colorado forever Read More »