Beware Congressmen Bearing Deals

by PerlStalker | 9:35 pm, July 31, 2011

The deal announced yesterday is official. Allahpundit has the blow-by-blow run down of the day’s events and reactions. It still needs to pass both chambers but that seems to be a formality as President Obama is already claiming victory.

The ever exci…

Colorado Government Employee Pay Packages

by PerlStalker | 8:57 am, July 31, 2011

The Pueblo Chieftain has a story about government employee benefits. If you’re familiar with the debate in Colorado, you can probably skip the story since it contains all of the same talking points from both sides. (Though they were sure to include the…

Year of School Choice a Great Birthday Present in Milton Friedman’s Honor

by Eddie | 2:12 pm, July 29, 2011

The birthday of the late, great economist Milton Friedman is in two days. He would have been 99 years old. Since the anniversary of Friedman’s birth falls on a Sunday and I won’t be blogging then, what better time to commemorate him and his passionate life’s work to expand school choice? In the Education Policy [...]

Looming education-funding fiscal and budgetary train wreck aided and abetted by Colorado Supreme Court

by CTBC Director | 1:23 pm, July 29, 2011

Days before a landmark school-funding lawsuit goes to trial, Gov. John Hickenlooper and Attorney General John Suthers on Thursday took a pre-emptive bipartisan stand against the legal challenge, arguing that it could cost the state billions of dollars if it loses in court. (Denver Post, “Colorado governor, attorney general stand against education-funding challenge“)
When Colorado’s Democrat [...]

Apple Phases Out Optical and Magnetic Drives

by Ari Armstrong | 12:49 pm, July 29, 2011

Years ago in school we students plugged standard tape recorders into computers to load programs and save files. (That was a big advancement over the older card systems.) Then came the 5.25 inch floppy, which lasted quite a while, then the 3.5 inch flop…

Taking a “Blight” Out of Taxpayers

by Jon Caldara | 12:44 pm, July 29, 2011

Boy is the corporate welfare machine rolling in Aurora these days. Gaylord Entertainment is benefiting from a massive amount of subsidies and tax breaks from the city of Aurora for the honor of locating their hotel and conference center there. If Gaylord were not granted the $300 million in generous “support,” the theory goes, they [...]

One More Thought on the BBA

by Joshua Sharf | 11:45 am, July 29, 2011

There are a couple of ways that, skillfully used, the BBA could actually end up helping the Republicans, at least in this first round. First, it’s a bargaining chip.  If the owners can give up an 18-game season that the players were never going to play, the Republicans may be willing to settle for a [...]

Debt Markets React to Washington – Finally

by Joshua Sharf | 10:33 am, July 29, 2011

People have noted the failure to demand higher yields for treasuries, and concluded that the debt markets don’t believe there’s any problem with August 2, or 10, or any other date we care to mention.  In fact, this was largely out of disbelief that Washington could fail to act. In fact, this week, the debt [...]

Western Conservative Summit Livestream

by admin | 9:55 am, July 29, 2011

Via Centennial Institute: Watch live streaming video from coloradochristianuniversity at livestream.com

Quote of the Day – Powerline

by Mr. Bob | 9:31 am, July 29, 2011

One would hope that voters have begun to notice that the only body that has actually done anything concrete to resolve the debt impasse is the House of Representatives. Unlike the Senate, it has passed a budget. It also passed cut, cap and balance…

The Most Popular Man In Town

by Joshua Sharf | 9:42 pm, July 28, 2011

Is usually the backup quarterback.  Right now, Rick Perry is polling extremely well.  He’s played this skillfully so far, not letting himself be rushed, getting people to ask him to enter, and them building up a fundraising effort and making all the right contacts.  (Personally, I like what I see so far; he’s turned what [...]

For the Kids, Please, D.C. Leaders Need to Streamline Department of Education

by Eddie | 3:17 pm, July 28, 2011

Judging by some of the grumbling I hear from my parents lately, there’s a big hubbub in Washington, D.C., about people in government borrowing bazillions of dollars and not paying it back — or something like that. Which reminds me… You really ought to watch this 2-minute video put together by my friends at the [...]

Left and Right Assault Free Speech

by Ari Armstrong | 1:31 pm, July 28, 2011

The following article by Linn and Ari Armstrong originally was published July 22, 2011, by Grand Junction Free Press.Within a week of Independence Day, representatives of the left and right started lining up to assault free speech and advocate censorsh…

What’s Going on with Obamacare These Days?

by Jon Caldara | 12:50 pm, July 28, 2011

What’s going on with that little health care law know as Obamacare? Tune into this week’s Devil’s Advocate to find out as I am joined by Independence Institute health care policy center director Linda Gorman and Galen Institute president Grace-Marie Turner to talk about Colorado’s new health insurance exchange and Grace-Marie’s new book. “Why [...]

Obama’s Evergreen Goes Brown

by Joshua Sharf | 12:23 pm, July 28, 2011

Barack Obama and Harry Reid may not be able to produce a spending plan, but at least they have their old campaign talking points from 2008 to fall back on. With the Senate having failed to produce a budget in over 2 years, the President’s budget having succeeded in uniting Washington to a degree not [...]

Mencken’s imaginary hobgoblins of today

by David K Williams Jr | 9:59 am, July 28, 2011

“The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.”H.L. MenckenSee Warming, Global; Terrorism, War on; Drugs, War on…

Mencken’s imaginary hobgoblins of today

by David K Williams Jr | 9:59 am, July 28, 2011

“The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.”H.L. MenckenSee Warming, Global; Terrorism, War on; Drugs, War on…

Mencken’s imaginary hobgoblins of today

by David K Williams Jr | 9:59 am, July 28, 2011

“The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.”H.L. MenckenSee Warming, Global; Terrorism, War on; Drugs, War on…

Mencken’s imaginary hobgoblins of today

by David K Williams Jr | 9:59 am, July 28, 2011

“The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.”H.L. MenckenSee Warming, Global; Terrorism, War on; Drugs, War on…

Fiscal Child Abuse – in a 2 min video

by Jon Caldara | 8:38 am, July 28, 2011

Power Line just ran a highly contested and highly coveted contest for a grand prize worth $100,000 to “whoever can most effectively and creatively dramatize the significance of the federal debt crisis.” They allowed any and all types of creative art – like sculpture, paintings, songs, poems, videos, dance, etc. The Independence Institute decided to [...]

The Party of "No" Chooses Default Over Compromise

by PerlStalker | 9:40 pm, July 27, 2011

Rather than compromise with their counterparts in the House, all 53 Senate Democrats have sent a letter to Speaker John Boehner promising to vote down the GOP compromise bill when it gets to the Senate.

At this point, the GOP has sent multiple bills …

Colorado Task Force to End Zero-Tolerance Rules?

by PerlStalker | 8:36 pm, July 27, 2011

From the Colorado News Agency:

A new task force scrutinizing school discipline policies statewide dug into its work at the Capitol today with a search for alternatives to what some are calling a “school-to-prison pipeline,” said to be the result…

Save Our Schools… Huh?

by Eddie | 4:23 pm, July 27, 2011

Update, 7/28: Writing at redefinED, Doug Tuthill and Adam Emerson highlight the rich irony behind the “Save Our Schools” phenomenon.
So apparently there’s some big national march called “Save Our Schools” or something like that. I told you about it a month ago. While the good people at the National Council on Teacher Quality took a [...]

Celebrate Milton Friedman’s Legacy with Liberty on the Rocks this Friday night!

by amanda | 4:22 pm, July 27, 2011

[ July 29, 2011; 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm. ] Join Liberty on the Rocks this Friday night, July 29 to toast to Milton Friedman on what would have been his 99th birthday (well, the 31st will be, but it’s close!).

Mr. Friedman was a free market economist, statistician, author and Nobel Prize winner for his work with economics. He spent much of his life spreading [...]

Mary Katharine Ham – ATF Party 2011

by Jon Caldara | 2:55 pm, July 27, 2011

If you were crazy enough to miss our 9th annual ATF Party this past Saturday, you missed the very funny and entertaining keynote speaker Mary Katharine Ham. But as always, we’ve got you covered. Below you will find the YouTube playlist of Mary Ka…

TABOR Still Doesn’t Violate the Constitution

by Jon Caldara | 11:06 am, July 27, 2011

The Legislative Council’s executive committee, consisting of 3 Democrats and 3 Republicans, took a vote the other day on whether to oppose the TABOR lawsuit. You might recall that our Taxpayers Bill of Rights is going to court soon to determine whether it violates the Constitution’s guarantee of a “republican form of government.” As with [...]

Politically-controlled health benefits exchanges crowd out private exchanges

by Brian T. Schwartz | 5:30 am, July 27, 2011

Government has no business running health benefits exchanges. They compete with private ventures. Politico reports: “To some observers, the growing interest in private health exchanges indicates that employers would be less likely to send their employees to the public exchanges to take advantage of public subsidies.”

Join us at the Adams County Fair!

by Ryan Massfeller | 1:44 pm, July 26, 2011

DMYR is Teaming up with the Adams County Republican Party in a Joint effort to reach out to Voters during the Adams County Fair August 3rd thru the 7th. We have scheduled to work the booth on Saturday August 6th from 1 – 6pm. We are looking for 12 volunteers who are ready to engage the [...]

If It’s So Urgent, Why Did ACLU & Co. Wait So Long to Stop Dougco Vouchers?

by Eddie | 12:10 pm, July 26, 2011

Some groups like the ACLU have their reasons for wanting to shut down the Douglas County Choice Scholarship Program and take educational opportunities away from about 500 kids. Some people can’t help but be offended by other people’s choices, I guess.
Here we stand one week away from the start of a legal hearing to determine [...]

Are You Serious and Mature Like Your Fellow “Defaulters?”

by Jon Caldara | 11:47 am, July 26, 2011

Oh Diana. We know economics isn’t one of your strong suits, but at least think a little harder before you parrot irrational talking points. Like the good Keynesian she is, Congresswoman Diana DeGette continues to push the popular and fallacious narrative of debt ceiling default. Here is what she had to say in the North [...]

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