You can HOPE for CHANGE but the song remains the same.

by Mr. Bob | 1:46 pm, March 24, 2009

#tcot #hhrs #gop Obama Nominates Former Freddie Mac Executive As ‘Housing Commissioner’
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
By Staff, Associated Press

Washington (AP) – President Barack Obama has named a former Freddie Mac executive to head the federal housing commission.

The crash and burn of the Obama administration continues to accelerate to warp speed.

The White House on Monday named David Stevens as assistant secretary at the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The position requires Senate confirmation and would put Stevens in charge of the government’s housing mortgage-insurance program.

Stevens now is the head of Long and Foster Companies, a real estate and mortgage firm. He previously worked at World Savings bank and Wells Fargo Home Mortgage.

At Freddie Mac, Stevens was a senior vice president in charge of affordable lending, sales and marketing. SOURCE CNS News Via AP

RMA 2.0: Rocky Mtn Blogs Radio Show #19

by elpresidente | 10:14 am, March 24, 2009

**Every Tuesday–next show March 24, 8:30 pm.

The Blog Talk Radio version of the Rocky Mountain Alliance. A weekly discussion about politics–national, state, and local–featuring RMA members bloggers led by featured host and producer Joshua Sharf, with rotating co-host duties from Ben DeGrow of Mount Virtus, Randy Ketner of Night Twister, and Michael Alcorn of Best Destiny.

March 24 lineup–we review of the recent state GOP organizational meeting, where Dick Wadhams was reelected as state chair, and Leondray Gholston was elected vice chair after three rounds of voting with Boulder County GOP chair Scott Starin, and David K. Williams, co-founder of the Gadsden Society of Colorado.

Last week (all shows archived): March 17 lineup–State Senate Minority Leader Josh Penry was our first guest, followed by Nathan Chambers, candidate for Colorado Republican Party state vice chair.

Previous week: March 10 lineup–From 8:45 to 9:15, Colorado Republican Party Chair Dick Wadhams and at 9:30 Hassan Daioleslam.

March 3 lineup–two candidates for Fort Collins City Council, Aislinn Kottwitz (District 3) and Andrew Boucher (District 5), and Tom Stone, who is challenging Dick Wadhams for state party chairmanship.

Next week–TBD.

February 24 lineup–Evan Coyne Maloney of Indoctrinate U, whose film of the same name was shown at the inaugural Liberty on Film last Thursday, and Nadeem Esmail of the Fraser Institute, discussing the dangers of single-payer (socialized) medicine from first hand experience.

Indoctrinate U trailer:

Plus two special editions of RMA Radio–the Pork Roast/anti-stimulus rally edition from the steps of the state capitol, as well as extensive coverage of the Larimer County Lincoln Day dinner.

February 17 lineup–Denver-based political activist Chris Maj, also an affiliate of Ron Paul’s Campaign for Liberty, and a look back to today’s anti-stimulus/pig roast rally at the state capitol.

February 10 lineup–State Rep. Cory Gardner (R-63), probable candidate in the CD-4 GOP primary, and Leondray Gholston, Republican activist and candidate for state GOP vice-chair.

February 3 lineup–Daveed Gartenstein-Ross from the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and Mike Saccone of the Grand Junction Sentinel.

January 27–Guests included elections expert Jan Tyler and State Sen. Greg Brophy.

January 20–Guests included Todd Shepherd, Independence Institute, and Mark Hillman, Colorado Republican National Committeeman.

January 13–State Rep. Ellen Roberts, R-Durango (HD 59) and State Senator Mike Kopp, SD 22, R-Littleton.

January 6–CU Regent Tom Lucero, chairman of the successful Amendment 54 campaign and a candidate for CD 4 in 2010.

December 30–RMA took a look back at a dismal year in their 2008 year-in-review.

December 23–Joshua and fellow commentators (including yours truly) hosted Jim Pfaff of Americans for Prosperity Foundation and Opinion Times. Pfaff discussed the AFP Colorado report “Keeping Colorado Competitive” and bridging the Christian/libertarian gap.

On December 16 we hosted State Rep. Kevin Lundberg (District 49), and discussed the Salazar appointment as the Secretary of the Interior in the Obama cabinet.

The December 12 edition featured Aurora City Councilman Ryan Frazier.

**Bookmark the new RMA Radio home page, with embedded player and calendar of upcoming shows and featured guests.

Stream the show live, or play/download the podcast at your convenience.

I’ll update co-host and guest info for each episode as it becomes available. Stay tuned . . .

RMA’s shows are archived–if you missed any of them, be sure to check out the archive page to stream or download, or scroll down this page a bit, for the embedded archive player.

Map of Current Terror Acts in the United States

by Mr. Bob | 8:45 am, March 24, 2009

#hhrs #tcot #gop Hat tip to Catholic Conservative American.

Terroracts.com chronicles current battles with terrorists inside the US. Just added to my blogroll.

Even Shell Oil knows Obama’s “green energy” plans are stupid

by Rossputin | 1:58 am, March 24, 2009

Shell Oil, which has fully (and disappointingly) bought into the global warming hype and whose web site features “Responsible Energy” as the very first thing on the home page, announced last week that they will no longer be investing (at least not in any significant way) in wind or solar energy projects.

To the extent that they will continue investing in “alternative energy”, it will be in biofuels not created from food crops.

So just as one of the world’s largest oil companies is effectively abandoning most “alternative energy” spending because it is not profitable, our government has decided to spend or guarantee through loans or subsidize through tax credits tens of billions of dollars of “renewable energy” development including plenty of money for wind, solar, and unspecified “green jobs”. [A summary of the “stimulus” bill (i.e. everything for everyone) can be found HERE, with some of the energy provisions on page 4.]

According to a Shell executive board member, “On wind and solar (energy), they’re interesting, but they continue to struggle in comparison with the other investment opportunities we have in our portfolio, even with substantial subsidies.” (emphasis mine) In other words, the Federal government’s spending in these areas is guaranteed to be a huge financial loser for the American taxpayer. After all, if a smart private company with an interest in being efficient can’t develop wind or solar profitably, even with government covering part of the cost, it is inconceivable that the government itself – an organization which never cares about efficiency or profits (except to the extent that they can take ours) – would do anything but waste billions of our dollars in order to please the Democrats’ radical environmentalist and anti-capitalist supporters.

I’m very pleased by Shell’s decision, which I’m sure will not surprise my regular readers. I participate in a mostly-European online “dialogue” called “Comment:Visions” which is largely sponsored by Shell, perhaps in their continuing quest to suck up to environmental activists and the muddle-headed public who believe everything they hear in the mainstream media. It was interesting to read that Shell has only spent about $1.25 billion on “green energy” in the decade from 1996-2006 (i.e. over 10 years, not per year)…for a company that regularly spends over $10 billion each year on operating and development expenses.

The last Shell-sponsored “dialogue” was about biofuels, and you can read my contribution here:
http://rossputin.com/blog/index.php/2009/03/08/comment-visions-the-future-of-biofuels

A couple of relevant lines from my comment:

Furthermore, biofuels made from food crops should be ended as an energy source. Here in America, people are slowly learning that corn ethanol is an inefficient energy source and is no better – and arguably worse – for the environment than gasoline. Furthermore, it results in massive transfers of wealth from taxpayers around the nation to a relatively small number of farmers, mostly large agribusiness corporations, in the form of subsidies.

Eventually, biofuels will make sense, especially if cellulosic ethanol production can be made more efficient. But it’s time for our leaders to admit that they can’t save the world by burning our food.

Now I don’t think anyone at Shell read that comment, but I have a glimmer of hope that someone read this note I sent directly to an executive at Shell:

Hello xxxxxx,

First, I want to thank you and Shell for organizing “dialogues” including “Comment: Visions”.

As a contributor to the project, I would like to offer one personal comment which I also hope you’ll pass up the food chain.

Shell became a great corporation because of free-market capitalism, not by pandering to the cult-of-the-day during various economic or other fads. It troubles me greatly to see Shell being proud of being “one of the first energy companies to acknowledge the threat of climate change.” Anthropogenic global warming is an anti-capitalist hoax being perpetrated by politicians, lobbyists, and radical environmentalists who use it to try to increase their wealth and power at the expense of everyone else on earth.

Oil is a blessing not a curse. Shell’s exploration and development of fossil fuel resources is a gift to the planet and the company should not act as if it’s ashamed to be part of the reason that people can drive their cars, cook their food, and heat their homes.

It is truly reprehensible that Mr. van der Veer says that “the scientific debate about climate change is over” when the overwhelming evidence of data in the past decade is that (1) the planet isn’t warming, (2) CO2 isn’t a particularly important contributor to climate change, (3) CO2 concentrations come AFTER temperature changes, and (4) the world is not losing any important amount of sea ice.

It is tremendously cynical of companies such as those in the US Climate Action Partnership to buy into the propaganda and lies of Al Gore in order to try to create new markets, to force us to buy new expensive light bulbs (which are dangerous if broken, can’t be used on a dimmer, and only “save energy” if you leave them on all the time.)

Support for “cap and trade” which is a failed experiment in Europe and based on the same junk science as the rest of global warming alarmism is also sad to see from a great company like Shell.

In summary, Shell should be standing up for itself and its industry, making clear the great benefits to society from having a thriving oil industry. It should not be sucking up to snake oil salesman and money-grubbing “scientists” whose only interest is in maximizing their grant money by frightening people and politicians.

One day, the world will realize that we’re being cheated by the high priests of the cult of global warming, and customers will appreciate a company which wasn’t one of the choir boys.

I appreciate the opportunity to offer my thoughts on Comment:Visions and I hope that you will pass this message along inside Shell, including to Mr. van der Veer.

Best regards,
Ross G Kaminsky

Link to Original post at Rossputin.com.

Ward Churchill Testifies (Finally): “I Am Not In Favor Of Terror,” Profit Motive Made 9/11 Victims “Little Eichmanns”

by elpresidente | 7:15 pm, March 23, 2009

Today’s earlier Week 2 recap. Drunkablog contextualizes Churchill’s contextualizations on the stand earlier today. PirateBallerina has even more.

From the Denver Post Churchill blog:

Churchill is putting the meaning of his 9/11 essay in context for the jury. “I am not in favor of terror,” he said.
. . .
“If the country wanted to avoid a repeat performance, maybe they should stop doing what it was that prompted the attack in the first place.”

Churchill said people did not understand that Eichmann was a “bureaucrat, a desk murderer” and his mistake was assuming people understood Eichmann’s role when they read the essay.

“When you bring your skills to bear for profit for yourself and your clients, you are the moral equivelant of Adolf Eichmann,” Churchill said. “He never killed anyone, but without him the killing would have taken a very different or inefficient form.”

Churchill continues to perpetuate a conflation of staggering malevolence–that somehow those working in the Twin Towers on 9/11, those corporate types involved in free market capitalism, are the moral equivalent of a man who organized train schedules and facilitated the murder of millions of Jews. But he’s not in favor of terror, so he has that going for him.

Maybe he can’t help it–he was just a “copy editor, essentially” for one of his cases of academic misconduct.

Russell Means–Churchill just “writing the wrongs of history” or “righting the wrongs”–depending on the blogger:

“It’s an insult to my people and my history,” Means said. “It’s a scholarly massacre and it’s not right. It’s full of holes and full of lies. It’s unconscionsable, because they don’t treat white professors at CU the same way.”

Yes they would, if any of them acted as academically irresponsible as Churchill. There is “scholarly massacre” at stake here, the kind perpetrated by Churchill in pursuit of a purely political agenda.

Mandatory Volunteerism is Slavery

by zombiehunter | 5:09 pm, March 23, 2009

Just in case you missed it, Congress just passed the Generations Invigorating Volunteerism and Education (GIVE) Act, H.R. 1388. Now I know Washington (and most Leftists and Progressives) doesn’t care much for that antiquated document written by old, racist and sexist white men, but if I recall correctly, the 13th Amendment to the United States [...]

HB 1238 -Civil Forfeiture – died in committee today

by David K. Williams, Jr. | 2:53 pm, March 23, 2009

This is the email from Christie Donner of the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition, announcing what happened to the bill.

We can make a difference. We did make a difference.

This battle is won, but the fight for liberty continues……

From Christie:

Hi everyone I just listened in to the House Judiciary Committee where Rep Rice asked and the committee unanimously voted to kill HB 1238 with the understanding that he would be introducing a new bill.

Rep Rice said he would be willing to meet with opponents but he recognized that it wasn’t likely that there would be consensus and he anticipated that his new bill would also be controversial.

Rep Rice indicated that one of his primary reasons for sponsoring HB 1238 was to bring more forfeitures back to state court, rather than having federal forfeitures. His comment was that the reforms in 2002 made it virtually impossible to do state forfeitures so law enforcement are forced to go to federal court where there are fewer due process protections for property owners.

I don’t think that Rep Rice is aware of the state law that restricts state/local law enforcement from seeking federal forfeiture unless the property owner is convicted in federal criminal court and that current practice by law enforcement may actually violate state law.

I’ve only briefly reviewed the new bill but it would, among many other things, lower the burden of proof back down to a preponderance of evidence (rather than the current “clear and convincing” standard; and allow law enforcement agencies (including DAs) to directly receive the majority of proceeds for their agency use.

Thank you for all your help.

It’s really important that we continue to stay involved.

Christie

Where’s Ward Churchillpalooza Week 3: Week 2 Recap, Will He Finally Take The Stand?

by elpresidente | 1:33 pm, March 23, 2009

“Simply made-up, simply false . . . He just cheated”–University of Colorado sociology professor Michael Radelet, investigative committee member, on one of Ward Churchill’s many faulty historical claims

Week 1 Recap–Churchill is expected to take the stand today, barring any more delays or snafus

March 16–Churchill’s 9/11 essay “cruel and gratuitous”, more here from the Daily Camera blog

March 17–Michael Yellow Bird on inventions in “oral history”; academic debates surrounding Churchill’s questionable claims should “remain in the Academy and not in the courts”

March 18–MYB continued . . . “They don’t invent facts, they invent the possibility that these things happen”:

For the final question CU attorney Patrick O’Rourke asked indigenous studies professor Michael Yellow Bird during his re-cross Wednesday morning, he pulled up a transcript of previous testimony the professor had given to CU’s Privilege & Tenure Committee and asked him if he had made the statement that “fabricated, made-up accounts promote the truth.”

With a slight pause, Yellow Bird said yes.

“No further questions,” O’Rourke said, closing his binder and taking a seat.

Lynne Stewart, yes that Lynne Stewart, will be defending Churchill this week.

CU investigative committee prof: Not “part of a right-wing attempt to get professor Churchill,” problems with sourcing

March 19–technical snafu’s deplete Churchill’s crowd of supporters; CU’s lead attorney goes on the offensive

March 20–Why the Churchill case matters from Vince Carroll of the Post; Churchill “hiding behind” oral tradition

March 23–Churchill lawyer claims that the powers that be at CU “disrespect Native people”; “He just cheated”:

University of Colorado sociology professor Michael Radelet, who served on the investigative committee looking into allegations of academic misconduct by Ward Churchill, said his initial concern was that his colleague was being “railroaded” by people who wanted to see him punished for writing a controversial essay.

Radelet said he even signed on to a statement drawn up by his colleagues calling for Churchill’s academic freedom and First Amendment rights to be protected by the university during the days after the 9/11 essay came to light.

“I am not and was not a person they would pick if they wanted someone to frame, railroad or even convict Ward Churchill of research misconduct,” Radelet told the jury.

He testified that the committee, sensitive to the concept of academic freedom, “bent over backwards” to give Churchill the benefit of the doubt.

Radelet, who looked into allegations that Churchill had falsified information through his contention that there was “pretty strong circumstantial evidence” that Captain John Smith purposely introduced smallpox to the Wampanoag Indians in Massachusetts, said the claim was “simply made-up, simply false.”

“He just cheated,” he told the jury.

Drunkablog has Radelet’s assertions that, by Churchill’s standards, just about anyone in Boulder in 1996 could be a suspect in the JonBenet Ramsey murder.

Much more from the aforementioned Drunkablog, who has braved the trial’s tedium and icy glares from the Chutchites for two weeks already, and PirateBallerina, who continues to serve up links galore to Churchilliana.

The Daily Camera’s blog/story archives are here, and the Race to the Bottom blog offering legal insights into the trial continues to chronicle the Churchill legal saga.

President Obama, Please Spare Us from Further Diplomatic Embarrassments

by Ben DeGrow | 8:07 am, March 23, 2009

From Gateway Pundit, more evidence of the kind of “change” in diplomacy we voted for: Barack Obama writes to FORMER president of France Jacques Chirac saying he looks forward to working together “in the coming four years” — while altogether snubbing current president Nicolas Sarkozy. More at EuroPumas.
(Here’s the original Le Figaro story, in case [...]

Help stop the expansion of state power over innocent citizens. Right now.

by David K. Williams, Jr. | 11:04 pm, March 22, 2009

From our friends at CCJRC: Send emails and phone calls as soon as you read this alert. Stop this horrendous, statist legislation.

CCJRC ACTION ALERT

Hearing on HB 1238 Civil Forfeiture.

March 23, 2009 at 1:30pm in House Judiciary Committee

It is possible to kill this bill. Your calls and emails are making a difference. If you haven’t had a chance to call legislators, please do so before 1:30 p.m. March 23rd.

Right now would be an excellent time to do it.

So far we have heard from the following members of the House Judiciary Committee that they OPPOSE HB 1238. If you contact them, please thank them for their opposition and their commitment to preserving due process and property rights.

Rep. Claire Levy (D-Boulder), chairman – 303-866-2578, claire.levy.house@state.co.us

Rep. Dennis Apuan (D-El Paso), 303-866-3069, repdennisapuan@gmail.com

Rep. Bob Gardner (R-El Paso), 303-866-2191, bob.gardner.house@state.co.us

Rep. Joe Miklosi (D-Denver), 303-866-2910, joe@joemiklosi.com

Rep. Sal Pace (D-Pueblo), 303-866-2968, sal_pace@hotmail.com

Rep. Mark Waller (R-El Paso), 303-866-5525, mark.waller.house@state.co.us

We do not yet know the positions of the following members of the House Judiciary Committee. If you contact them, please urge them to OPPOSE HB 1238.

Rep. Beth McCann (D-Denver), vice-chairman – 303-866-2959, ehmccann@comcast.net

Rep. Lois Court (D-Denver), 303-866-2967, loiscourt@msn.com

Rep. Steve King (R-Delta), 303-866-3068, steve.king.house@state.co.us

Rep. Ellen Roberts (R-Archuleta), 303-866-2914, ellen.roberts.house@state.co.us

Rep. Su Ryden (D-Arapahoe), 303-866-2942, su@suryden.com

As always, thank you for all you do.

Action Alert – Oppose HB 1238 (civil forfeiture)

Please forward this action alert to any of your friends and family that value due process and property rights. The Colorado Springs Gazette published an editorial in opposition to HB 1238. To read it, click here: http://t.ymlp77.com/qhaxauwhavahmjakaemyj/click.php

HB 1238 is opposed by a diverse, bi-partisan coalition including:

Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition, Independence Institute, ACLU, Colorado Union of Taxpayers, Colorado Criminal Defense Bar Association, Colorado Progressive Coalition, Pikes Peak Justice & Peace Commission, The Center for Justice, Peace & Environment, SAFER Colorado, Pendulum Foundation, Rocky Mountain Peace & Justice Center, Metro Community Church of the Rockies, Drug Policy Alliance, Colorado Libertarian Party, Empowerment Program, Alexandria Temple, National Lawyer’s Guild-Colorado, Law Offices of Phil Cherner, Sensible Colorado, Colorado CURE, Cynergetics Institute, Kilmer, Lane and Newman, Youth Transformation, Charities House Ministries, Montview Presbyterian-Peace & Justice Taskforce, New Foundations Nonviolence Center, Left Hand Book Collective, Turnabout, Surrounded by Recovery, Progress Now, 9-5 National Association of Working Women-Colorado, Road Called Strate.

What is “civil forfeiture”

Civil forfeiture is used by law enforcement to seize personal property (real estate, cash, jewelry, etc.) they believe was used during the commission of a criminal offense or is proceeds from criminal activity. When property is seized, prosecutors then file a civil forfeiture action against the property and, if the prosecution prevails, the property owner loses all right, title and interest in the property.

Current forfeiture law requires that:

· In most cases, a person must be convicted of a criminal offense before their property (cash, real estate, cars, etc.) can be forfeited for being involved in or proceeds of criminal activity.

· Law enforcement and prosecutors are not allowed to directly keep proceeds from forfeitures but are reimbursed for actual expenses related to the seizure and forfeiture. Once lienholders, innocent co-owners and victims are compensated, any remaining balance is divided 50% to fund substance abuse treatment at the local level and 50% to the county commissioners/city council (depending on whether police or sheriff did the seizure) to fund “public safety”.

· Law enforcement is required to submit an annual forfeiture report to Dept of Local Affairs.

These changes came about pursuant to the passage of HB 02-1404 in the 2002 legislative session. HB 02-1404 was sponsored by (then) Representative Shawn Mitchell (R-Broomfield) and (then) Senator Bill Thiebaut (D-Pueblo). HB 1404 was a bi-partisan effort that passed in the House on a 51-11 vote and passed the Senate on a 23-10 vote. HB 1404 also received editorial board support from the Denver Post, Rocky Mountain News, Grand Junction Sentinel, Colorado Springs Gazette, and Durango Herald.

WHAT HB 09-1238 WOULD DO:

1. Erodes reasonable protections for property owners by

a. repealing the requirement that someone be convicted of a criminal offense before their property can be forfeited. (in a civil forfeiture action, a property owner does not have 5^th Amendment protection against self-incrimination nor the right to counsel)

b. allowing for forfeiture even if the owner didn’t know that the property was used in violation of the law under the theory that he/she “reasonably should have known.”

c. repealing the requirement that the plaintiff prove that the property being forfeited was instrumental in the commission of an offense.

2. Reintroduces the profit motive to law enforcement and no longer requires forfeiture proceeds to be allocated through an accountable budgeting entity (like City Council or County Commissions) but rather allows law enforcement and prosecutors to keep a majority of the proceeds directly.

3. Removes any transparency and accountability by repealing all forfeiture reporting requirements and repeals the prohibition on transfer of forfeiture cases out of state court when local or state law enforcement were the seizing agency, with limited exceptions.

CONCLUSION:

Current law ensures that forfeiture actions are fair and that property owners have due process without undermining law enforcement’s ability to use forfeiture as a legitimate tool. Current law also brings the revenue generated from asset forfeiture into an appropriate budget process and provides accountability while removing any appearance of impropriety. HB 09-1238 repeals these fundamental principals of fairness and due process. It also creates an unacceptable profit motive for law enforcement.

http://www.ccjrc.org/

=============

Please forward this e-mail to friends and family who are concerned about defending our freedoms!

My contact information:

David K. Williams, Jr.

President, The Gadsden Society

cell 303-588-2731

Let freedom ring.

Dick Wadhams Decisively Reelected Colorado GOP Chair, Leondray Gholston Pulls Off Third Round Upset For Vice Chair

by elpresidente | 2:42 am, March 22, 2009

**Update 3–Scott McInnis “in” for Governor?

**Update 2–Lynn Bartels doesn’t disappoint . . . Dick Wadhams accused of being “liberal”–heh.

**Update–photos posted (scroll).

Ben DeGrow was able to post before I got home from a long day at the state central committee organizational meeting, but his report is accurate.

I would like, however, to elaborate on the proceedings.

The vote totals for state chair were immaterial, but Christine Tucker’s last-minute withdrawal appeared to boost Tom Stone’s bid against current chair Dick Wadhams, and drew a round of gasps from the crowd. In the end, Wadhams was comfortably reelected. Both Tucker and Stone emphasized expanding the appeal of the GOP, with Tucker adamantly calling for attention to the youth within the party.

With Wadhams’ reelection assured, the attention quickly turned to the crowded field for vice-chair, with Arapahoe County’s Nathan Chambers (who appeared to be the establishment candidate) arguing that experience trumped vision, dismissing his main opponent’s appeal as nothing more than “oratory.” Chambers’ speech, preceded by nomination from Attorney General John Suthers and a second from former Congressman Tom Tancredo, was tinged with self-importance. Leondray Gholston, on the other hand, continued his impassioned plea to build a strong fundraising campaign designed to turn Republicans into “shareholders” of the party. Following a first round vote without a majority (simple majority required, otherwise another round of balloting would ensue), Chambers’ slight lead gave way to Gholston’s second round improvement, a mere two votes from a majority necessary for victory. The remaining candidates for vice-chair, Curt Grina and Marti Albright, dropped out before the third round, throwing their support behind Chambers and Gholston respectively. Needing 175 votes for a majority, Gholston took the vice-chair position with 190+ votes, leaving many in the crowd shocked by the events that had just transpired.

The Wadhams-Gholston team, as Ben points out, has quite a task ahead of them–to make inroads in the Democrat-controlled state and federal legislative contingencies, as well as the five state-wide offices of Attorney General, Secretary of State, Treasurer, Governor, and U.S. Senator. The GOP will not be starting out from zero, as modest victories in the Colorado House in 2008 showed that a Republican comeback is not out of the question. The party also starts out this election cycle with no debt, and a headstart on political infrastructure. Needless to say, Republicans have a long road back to parity within the state, much less control. But the road to political dominance starts with the smallest of steps, and the new leadership team marries a vast amount of electoral and organizational experience in Wadhams with an impassioned infusion of vision, enthusiasm, and grassroots support in Gholston.

Waiting for the Lynn Bartels update on today’s affairs, the Denver Post offers up the lame AP snippet–proving once again how much superior the Rocky Mountain News was in providing on-the-ground updates to local stories instead of relying on AP newsfeeds. Let’s hope they return Bartels to the quicker turnaround we were used to seeing from her at the RMN.

Click to enlarge:

Starting bright and early, a very busy schedule.

Volunteers conduct credential check-in.

Rep. Cory Gardner chats with folks outside the auditorium

David K. Williams at the Leadership Program of the Rockies table.

National Committeewoman Lily Nunez.

The photo captions itself–Mark Hillman.

GOP Executive Director Michael Britt.

Tom Stone, candidate for GOP State Chair.

Senate Minority Leader Josh Penry places current State Chair Dick Wadhams’ name into nomination.

Wadhams accepts the nomination.

The vote.

Attorney General John Suthers pleads with Republicans to make him less lonely by helping to elect more GOPers to state-wide office.

Rep. Doug Lamborn, CD-5

Rep. Mike Coffman, CD-6–with now former State Vice Chair Perry Buck looking on.

Rep. Cory Gardner fires up the crowd.

Former Rep. Bob Beauprez talks conservative principles.

Former Rep. Bob Schaffer, current chair of Colorado’s Board of Education.

CU Regent Tom Lucero, candidate for 4th Congressional District.

Joshua Sharf, Denver County 2nd Vice Chair, speaks on behalf of Jewish Republicans.

Aurora City Councilman Ryan Frazier.

What a surprise: Obama lied about the cost of “cap and trade”

by Rossputin | 1:40 am, March 22, 2009

Fox News has a decent summary of the story.
See “White House Admits Cap-And-Trade Tax Costs Triple Their Official Estimate“, Fox News, 3/17/09

Link to Original post at Rossputin.com.

Natasha Richardson and Canadian health care

by Brian Schwartz | 1:30 am, March 22, 2009

From an AP story last week:
… questions are arising over whether a medical helicopter might have been able to save the ailing actress.
The province of Quebec lacks a medical helicopter system, common in the United States and other parts of Canada, to airlift stricken patients to major trauma centers. Montreal’s top head trauma doctor said [...]

Ryan Frazier: Next Generation of Conservative Leadership?

by wesley | 8:44 pm, March 21, 2009

Politico.com had an article discussing the three potential GOP candidates seriously considering the 2010 bid for Colorado Senator. The article discusses some of the opportunities and challenges each potential candidate would face in the primary race. It juxtaposed the established former Congressman with a long resume of political offices to the young “fresh face” City Councilman [...]

Leondray Gholston Brings Fresh Blood Beside Experienced Dick Wadhams in Colorado GOP Leadership

by Ben DeGrow | 3:26 pm, March 21, 2009

Update: El Presidente has more of the details surrounding what went down at today’s state party officer elections.
I was not able to attend today’s Colorado Republican state central committee meeting in Castle Rock, but I’ve had a chance to follow developments remotely. As reported at Rocky Mountain Right, Dick Wadhams was comfortably re-elected to the [...]

Jared Polis, in context, warns businesses against getting too close to government

by Rossputin | 1:11 am, March 21, 2009

[Update: At about 6:50 of THIS VIDEO CLIP, economist Arthur Laffer praises Jared Polis’ remarks made in the House of Representatives.]

[Update 2: Conservative anti-tax stalwart Tom McClintock (R-CA) made the following statement about HR1586: “I reluctantly supported HR 1586 for a simple and singular reason: it will stop or slow the corporate bailouts that are bankrupting our country."]

Yesterday I heard a newscast playing a recording of Congressman Jared Polis (D-CO, representing the district I live in) saying “We will hunt down your executives with pitchforks, we will subpoena your boards and haul you before Congress…”

I know Jared Polis a little bit and I am well aware of his success in the private sector (something far too few members of Congress have accomplished). So, I simply couldn’t imagine him meaning what he appeared to be saying in that obviously carefully-edited-by-a-news-department quote.

Listening carefully, it seemed to me that Congressman Polis’ words were tinged with irony, or some such characteristic that made me think he was actually making fun of statements like that and opposing the sort of Congressional behavior we’ve seen in the past few days.

I sent Congressman Polis an e-mail saying just that. And I’m glad I did, because he responded with the full text of his remarks which show that the quote I heard on the radio turns Polis’ intent on its head: He was making a strong argument against the nationalization of businesses and against business running to government for “help”.

As you’ll read in a moment, the intent of the Congressman’s words could have been made much clearer had the audio editor simply included the short sentence immediately preceding the quote they played. In fact, I called the radio’s news department and suggested they do just that. (I don’t know whether they did so.)

The entirety of Congressman Polis’ text is worth reading…and applauding. And that’s not something I’ve said about a Democrat’s comments on the intersection of business and politics in quite a long time.

In particular, I ask you to note the 4th paragraph of the text, beginning with “Businesses beware:” and see how the news reporters leaving out that introductory sentence essentially reversed the true meaning of Polis’ words. (I’ve emphasized the sentence to make sure you don’t miss it.)

And Polis’ closing sentence is one that should be repeated from every street corner (at least in downtown business districts near companies that may be considering getting too cozy with government.)

————-

Remarks of Congressman Jared Polis before the House of Representatives, Tuesday March 19th 2008

The power to tax is the power to destroy. Today I rise in support of HB 1586 and destroying the creeping socialism imposed on by the Bush administration before it takes over our entire economy. Executives and boards of private companies must know that to call in the federal cavalry means that you will be run out of town.

I am reminded of Emperor Alexius I of Byzantium, who called forth the Christian kings of western Europe to help him hold off the Turks at his gates. Help us, he said, prevent the heathens from taking the holy land.

The Christian kings of the west responded in force. At first the crusades served Alexius’s goals, there were some initial “bonuses” such as the taking of Antioch and Jerusalem. But with time many crusaders saw a richer and easier target in Constantnople itself and soon the very forces that Alexius called forth looted his own capital and hastened the demise of the Byzantine empire.

Businesses beware: You do not want the federal government or the American people owning your business. We will hunt down your executives with pitchforks, we will subpoena your boards and haul you before Congress, we will use personal rhetoric to decry your greed, we will make life so miserable that you will leave. And no, our cruelty will not be reserved for your executives. Your workers will be bureaucratized, your competent managers squeezed out, your travel and conferences canceled, your work hours extended, your incentive structure turned upside down. I dare say that with a different party in the white house and congress, as unfortunately happens from time to time, your union will be busted and your jobs lost.

I will be supporting this bill, and hope that it serves as a siren call to executives, shareholders, and workers to oppose nationalization of your companies. My voting for this bill today, Mr. Speaker, we are demonstrating that there is a fate worse than death, and that this is it.

And if your business might be “too big to fail” then by all means, please spin-off divisions and downsize because “too big to fail” means that you will end up in this eternal purgatory of misery, blame and scapegoating.

Let your companies die quietly, silently, and call forth not the mighty crusaders from Washington DC lest we loot and pillage your company as the Christian crusader innocently called forth by Alexius I went on to loot the center of eastern Christiandom itself.

Pillage not our public troughs lest ye be pillaged.

Link to Original post at Rossputin.com.

The Power of “Pull” (or, “Countrywide is on your side” – if you’re a politician with clout)

by The Peripatetic Pundit | 3:30 pm, March 20, 2009

Ayn Rand’s novel “Atlas Shrugged” popularized the concept of “pull” – referring to those who attempt to achieve success not through their own effort, talent, or initiative, but by currying favor with politicians. Numerous observers have noted the prescience of Rand’s vision, particularly in recent months, with many commenting that we seem to be in [...]

R.I.P. Media Matters: Goodbye to My Man-Crush

by Jon Caldara | 2:02 pm, March 20, 2009

Colorado Media Matters, run by Tim Gill play-thing Bill Menezes, is no longer. Here is the entire news reporting of its quiet death by the Denver Post,
One of Colorado’s liberal watchdogs has ceased to bark.
Colorado Media Matters on Monday closed its doors as its parent organization in Washington, D.C., plans more efficient expansions into more [...]

Obama Adminstration “incorrect” about likely budget deficits

by Rossputin | 12:51 pm, March 20, 2009

I used the word “incorrect” in the title because I’m feeling momentarily generous. A more precise word would probably have been “lied”.

Today’s news about deficits is, not surprisingly, much worse than the already-bad picture painted for us by the Obama administration and their ridiculously rosy economic forecasts.

An AP article entitled “$1 trillion deficits seen for next 10 years” explains that:

* “Congressional Budget Office figures predict Obama’s budget will produce $9.3 trillion worth of red ink over 2010-2019. That’s $2.3 trillion worse than the White House predicted in its budget.” Since economic forecasts have not worsened in the few weeks since the Adminstration made its proposal public, it means that they underestimated the debt they’re piling on future generations by a full 30% with no excuse to be made about changing forecasts.

* “Worst of all, CBO says the deficit under Obama’s policies would never go below 4 percent of the size of the economy, figures that economists agree are unsustainable. By the end of the decade, the deficit would exceed 5 percent of gross domestic product, a dangerously high level.”

Nobody who has been paying attention is surprised by this news. But now that it’s come from the CBO instead of from evil supporters of liberty and free markets, maybe the public and – dare I say it – Democratic legislators will start pushing back against the destruction of our nation’s economy.

Link to Original post at Rossputin.com.

Vote today – your view on in-state tuition for illegal aliens

by Rossputin | 11:16 am, March 20, 2009

[Update: I can now find neither the poll nor its results on the Representative’s web page. I wonder if he got flooded with a lot of “no” votes and decided to take down the poll. I’ll try to find out next week and let you know…]

A Democratic member of the Colorado State House of Representatives has a one-day online poll asking if people support the bill that offers in-state tuition to illegal aliens.

As of my writing this note, the vote is a remarkable 84% yes, probably because it is only the Representative’s friends who are responding.

I would love to help get a more “representative” sample of the true feeling of Coloradoans to resonate with our legislators, and I urge you to go to this link and make your voice heard (even if it’s only in a very small way.)

http://www.markferrandino.com/index.php?option=com_poll&id=17:do-you-support-sen-romers-tuition-equity-legislation-sb-170

Link to Original post at Rossputin.com.

Few Tears Shed for Disappearance of Colorado Lefty Propaganda Machine

by Ben DeGrow | 8:11 am, March 20, 2009

(Cue music to “Mrs. Robinson”) “Where have you gone, Colorado Media Matters? A state barely notices you’re through … Woo, woo, woo….” Nice (”don’t let the door hit you on the way out”) post-mortems from Slapstick Politics and Rossputin.
Curious silence from the various Lefty blogs I’ve read, though. Maybe they are just relieved that [...]

Bad Legislation Parade’s SB 180 Would Harm Taxpayers, Employee Rights

by Ben DeGrow | 7:56 am, March 20, 2009

Today brings a chance to review another member of the bad legislation parade down at the Colorado State Capitol. Senate Bill 180 (PDF) would override the local will of voters and impose collective bargaining on all local police and fire departments. After making it through the Democrat-controlled State, Military, and Veteran Affairs Committee, the bill [...]

Karen Middleton: The Dumbest Legislator Alive?

by RMR | 7:00 am, March 20, 2009

State House District 42 may be cursed. The district was previously filled by Democrat Michael Garcia who ended up stepping aside after urging a lobbyist to "touch it." While his replacement, Rep. Karen Middleton, hasn’t gone around propositioning any lobbyists she is proving herself to be just as inept as Garcia.

During a hearing last night on a bill that would have required public school districts in Colorado to post their budgets online, Middleton questioned if the Independence Institute has posted their budget online.

Either Middleton is so stupid that she doesn’t grasp the difference between a tax-payer funded organization and a private entity, or she is so petty and spiteful that she would should would spit on the public’s right to know what their government is doing because of a political grudge. No matter what her twisted logic was, it is clear that she has no business being in the state legislature and even less business being involved in anything related to education given her subpar reasoning ability.

Consumer Reports Review

by spark4freedom | 6:42 am, March 20, 2009

Alas, just when my left-meter was pegged earlier this week from all the “good” news, I received an email from Jim Guest, the publisher of Consumer Reports. He seemed to think that I should help him achieve socialized medicine so there would be a Popsicle in every child’s hand and a unicorn in every American’s [...]

Is this really the American Presidency?

by Rossputin | 1:47 am, March 20, 2009

It may be no surprise for a President who believes that “we are the ones we’ve been waiting for” and whose supporters have bumper stickers like “Barack and Roll” that he would behave like a 20-something year-old pop star rather than the supposed leader of the most important nation in the world at one of its most important times.

A friend e-mailed me, feeling something between embarrassment (for the country) and outrage at our president’s behavior when Obama agreed to become the first president to appear on The Tonight Show, which happened last night.

(for those of you paying attention, this image is actually from a prior appearance on the show, but since I’m writing this some hours before the show airs this image will do.)

I don’t care about the PC-crowd’s stupid reaction to Obama’s comparing his bowling game to the Special Olympics. (Although you can imagine how the mainstream media would have had a completely different reaction if it were a Republican who said it.) What I do wonder about is Obama’s statement that he’s been practicing his bowling. With all that spare time???

But if that’s not enough, we also have this pathetic spectacle:

Yes, this is our president filling out an NCAA basketball tournament “bracket” with ESPN’s senior college basketball writer. It’s one thing trying to appear to be a man of the people. It’s another thing to degrade the office of the presidency by dealing with trivialities while all around you there are serious issues that you are supposed to be showing leadership on. (Now that I think of it, we might all be better off if Obama spends a lot more time thinking about the NCAA rather than continuing to lead us down the Road to Serfdom.)

Even Duke’s basketball coach, Mike Krzyzewski, offered a (half-joking) criticism of Obama’s behavior when learning that Obama didn’t pick Duke to go to the Final Four: “…the economy is something that he should focus on, probably more than the brackets…so why would I care about that?”

And when Obama isn’t busy thinking about hoops, apparently he’s thinking about writing a children’s book, as we now learn from the Washington Times that in the days just before taking office Obama secured a $500,000 advance on an abridged version of his best-selling book “Dreams From My Father”. After all, if adults weren’t smart enough to learn from the book that at least some of Obama’s most important early influencers were communist haters of America (and I do not intend that as hyperbole) why shouldn’t Obama think he can get away with having that same sort of influence on our impressionable youth today?

A comment to an article of mine on another web site described Obama as “leader who has a Beatlemania effect on crowds (without any of the Beatles’ substance).” I think that’s right on target – and I think the public is beginning to realize it.

I was thinking of Nero fiddling while Rome burned as a comparison to Obama’s behavior now. Clearly I wasn’t the first to think of it:

While Obama’s actions are perfectly consistent with what many of us expected from him, i.e. based on a complete lack of understanding of economics or the fundamental principles of American liberty but enacted with the ego of a man who sees himself as a cross between a political messiah and a rock star.

Link to Original post at Rossputin.com.

Secretary of the Navy Honors John Murtha with the Distinguished Public Service Award

by Mr. Bob | 9:54 pm, March 19, 2009

#tcot #gop #hhrs Today I am embarrassed to be in the Navy with a leader so out of touch with the American serviceman, out of touch with reality I have to wonder what else SECNAV is out of touch about.

CLICK Here to sign the DON’T Honor John Murtha Petition.

John Murtha may have served his country during war time but since then he’s turned into a power hungry, dishonest, bribe taking, US Marine accuser bordering on treasonous politician.

Murtha has routinely and deliberately undermined the United States military, slandered servicemen serving in combat, and caused irreparable damage to our international reputation.

While serving as a Representative from Pennsylvania, Murtha called Marines from 3d Battalion, 1st Marines “cold blooded killers” who “murdered innocent civilians.” Before an investigation into the Haditha incident was even conducted, Murtha went on numerous television news programs and announced that the Marines “went into houses and killed women and children.” He said,

“There’s no question in my mind about what happened here. There was no gunfire, they killed four people in a taxi…24 people were killed.” When asked specifically if he claimed that innocent civilians were intentionally executed by Marines, he said, “That’s exactly what happened.” Not content to slander those Marines directly involved, he went on to claim that if these Marines were not punished, “other Marines would say well I’ll do the same thing.” Murtha then continued to use this incident to lobby for the immediate withdrawal of troops from Iraq, citing it as evidence that our military was incapable of winning the war.

Since that time all of the Marines in the incident have been cleared of wrong doing and Murtha has not apologized or admitted his mistake. SIGN THE PETITION Murtha is a cold blooded power hungry politician who hurts the morale of the troops for personal gain.

“Congressman who willfully take actions during wartime that damage morale and undermine the military are saboteurs and should be arrested, exiled or hanged” Abraham Lincoln

BlackFive (the internet’s most prolific military blogger) wants to know; Money Whore, Or Just Seriously Retarded?

The AIG tax bill’s possible benefits

by Rossputin | 8:27 pm, March 19, 2009

In a fit of economic idiocy driven by misdirected populist outrage, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 1586 on Thursday afternoon, subjecting to a 90% tax rate any bonus paid to a person who works at any institution which has received at least $5 billion in TARP money whose:

(1) family income is over $250,000
(2) individual income is over $125,000 if he/she is married but files a separate tax return

I have not yet heard anyone in the media mention (2) above, and few people have mentioned that people can have plenty of income sources outside their salary. So, someone could be making $50K from a job at a TARP-related firm but have $200,000 in income from a spouse or from investment property rental or whatever, causing their bonus to be taxed at 90% (before the other taxes on the payment which will put the total tax over 100%.) But even beyond these details, the bill is more draconian than most people understand.

The bill covers any partnership (which could be in terms of its business operations entirely unrelated to the business of the bank or investment house which received the TARP funds) which is majority-owned by one or more persons who would be covered under the above definition.

Imagine that an executive at one of the 9 institutions which have received more than $5 billion in TARP money (Citigroup, JP Morgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, PNC, and US Bancorp) has a family partnership that runs another business; say a farm or a dairy or a small factory. And imagine that the terms of the partnership are essentially a modest salary for the participants and then bonuses based on a combination of the firm’s overall performance and the quality of the work of each partner. H.R. 1586 would seem to tax at a 90% rate each partner’s “bonus” which is in excess of his base salary from the operation of his family’s farm. And it apparently does not exclude those family members who have nothing to with a bank, TARP, or anything else; it simply targets the partnership.

House Minority Leader John Boehner, during the House debate on the bill, said “Are you kidding me? This is a joke. Vote no!” Earlier he called the idea a “sham” and an “attempt to cover someone’s rear end”, which it undoubtedly is given the news that someone from the administration, specifically the Treasury Department, added bonus-protection language to Christopher Dodd’s amendment to the “stimulus” bill. The feigned anger by Tim Geithner earlier this week makes the “sham” claim that much more believable since we learned that the New York Federal Reserve told the Treasury Department about the bonuses more than two weeks before they were paid. Geithner is either a liar, incompetent, or (based on his excuse for filing incorrect tax returns) both. I predict that Dodd will join some Republicans in calling for Geithner’s resignation in an unsuccessful attempt by Dodd to prevent losing his own re-election in November.

As with everything done by government out of anger, the negative consequences of this measure if it emerges without major changes from a House-Senate conference will be substantial. But just as liberals’ “good intentions” frequently cause bad outcomes, the accidental effect of this bill might be good news in the fight against the current trend toward economic fascism.

It’s true that this bill will likely cause good employees to leave AIG, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac, causing the taxpayers to lose much more in value than Charlie Rangel and friends are trying to “claw back” through this legislation. Indeed, preventing this “brain drain” was almost certainly one of the Treasury’s goals when asking Senator Dodd to protect the bonuses though I don’t doubt that there was also some political payback involved for all the donations AIG had given Democrats.

But the bill will also likely cause the firms listed above to move as quickly as they can to return their TARP money, or at least to return enough so that their total participation is under $5 billion. Citigroup and Merrill Lynch may not be able to return the money quickly because of their financial situations, but most of the other institutions probably could…and their total participation is just under $75 billion. Since compensation structures in investment banking (and to a lesser degree in standard banking) are frequently heavily geared toward bonuses, we could see firms moving rapidly to throw off the chains that come with government/taxpayer money, and a corresponding lessening of the control by Democrats in Washington of our financial industry.

A secondary benefit of H.R. 1586 is that it will remind the many Wall Street hypocrites who earn good livings through capitalism but gave large campaign donations and their votes to our sometimes socialist, sometimes fascist, but always anti-capitalist president that they can not buy the affection, nor even respect, of a life-long enemy any more than Israel can buy the affection of Hamas. AIG, which gave about 3 times as much money to Democrats as to Republicans in 2008, with Chris Dodd and Barack Obama being the top two Senate recipients truly embodies the maxim that “people get the government they deserve.”

Link to Original post at Rossputin.com.

Stop! (the Supremes) in the Name of Love…

by The Peripatetic Pundit | 6:15 pm, March 19, 2009

The Colorado Supreme Court has trampled our Constitution one too many times… This is a rogue court, populated with partisan “justices” with no respect for justice or the rule of law. This partisan court violated accepted legal practice in ignoring the “findings of fact” of the trial court which heard the case and ruled (correctly) on [...]

Naming Names in the Bailout Bonus Money “Scandal”

by Ikonoclast | 2:44 pm, March 19, 2009

The thuggish behavior of the Democratic Congressional “leadership” has been on prominent display this week. First, Senator “shameless” Chuck Schumer’s (D-NY) grandstanding and haranguing AIG executives on contractually obligated bonuses paid to their employees – ending with with a bald-faced threat to the AIG employees to cough it up – “or we will do it [...]