In which the Washington Bureau Chief thinks everyone is at fault

by Eileen McGuire-Mahony | 10:55 pm, August 31, 2011

A woman who used a stolen laptop is suing the company that tracked said device on behalf of its rightful owner for violating her privacy. On the face of it, we ought to find that sniveling child and beat her soundly.  And it is to prevent just such poorly thought out over-reactions that we now turn to [...]

Monty Python and the Jobs Speech

by Joshua Sharf | 10:10 pm, August 31, 2011

This from the guy who claimed that he was a better political director than his political director. For those of you who have better things to do than watch the national media try to keep their presidential Google Calendars updated, the President of the United States just suffered the worst stuffing since Joe Theismann threw [...]

Bananas and Broken Windows

by Vande Krol | 6:41 pm, August 31, 2011

A guy walks into his local grocery. Noting the price of bananas is 89 cents per pound, he complains that the grocery across the street sells bananas for 69 cents per pound. The grocer asks him why he didn’t buy bananas from the other grocery. “The…

The Left’s Failed Gamble In Wisconsin

by Kelly Sloan | 3:55 pm, August 31, 2011

The democrats and liberal press can try to paint as happy a face on the recalls as they like; but the failure to snatch the majority in the Wisconsin Senate represents a lost gamble for the left and the unions.

New Figlio Study Shows Real Learning Gains for Florida Tax Credit Students

by Eddie | 3:34 pm, August 31, 2011

Little Eddie is busy beating the heat, so no long, clever and insightful entries for today. In the meantime, chalk another one up for the positive effects of school choice. Matt Ladner points us to a new study on one of the nation’s major education tax credit programs:
A careful analysis of test score gains by [...]

Ben DeGrow vs. Rollie Heath on Channel 9

by Jon Caldara | 1:29 pm, August 31, 2011

Education Policy Analyst Ben DeGrow was featured on Channel 9’s Your Show last week in a debate with Senator Rollie Heath. They went head to head on Rollie’s proposed tax increase for education. Below is the debate in two parts. Before watching the debate, keep these facts in mind:
1. Colorado already spends more than $9,000 [...]

Wednesday Morning Spy

by Joshua Sharf | 6:35 am, August 31, 2011

Iran sees some strategic value in helping the Libyan rebels.  Well, since we were mostly just interested in preventing a refugee flood into Europe, they probably have more staying power, too. State pensions.  You thought it was bad?  It’s worse. Maybe we could just cherry-pick BC, Alberta, and the plains provinces. Sorry, Airports Council.  Airport [...]

Compounding natural disaster with government disaster

by Rossputin | 6:17 am, August 31, 2011

The ever-reliable supporters of big government at CNN (no different from any other “mainstream” media outlet, to be sure) offer this interesting insight: Political antagonism toward deficits may exacerbate the long-term impact of natural disasters by lessening the federal government’s ability to help.

This, like the approach to every other issue which becomes the subject of liberal cogitation, assumes that humans are too stupid to change their behavior when their environment changes.

To wit, if states know that there isn’t a free bucket of federal money awaiting should something bad happen, they will reserve more prudently, creating “rainy day funds” for disasters like Irene. The same goes for individuals who, whether self-insuring like states or purchasing insurance policies, will better prepare for disasters rather than relying on the forced charity of residents of other states to subsidize their bad luck or intentional risk-taking. Furthermore, the discipline imposed by self-insuring or by the provisions of a private policy won’t only improve financial preparations for disasters, but will improve the physical preparations for them as well. (How many of you have added an alarm system to your house or car to lower your insurance premiums and your own risk?)

Please read the rest of my article for the American Spectator here:
http://spectator.org/archives/2011/08/31/compounding-disaster

Incuriousness From The Washington Post

by Joshua Sharf | 10:23 pm, August 30, 2011

In a generally upbeat assessment of how Muslims feel about America, and about their place in it, the Washington Post drops this bit about how American Muslims feel about the job their own clergy is doing in fighting radicalism: The Pew study found that six in 10 U.S.-born Muslims faulted Islamic leaders for not speaking [...]

NO Labor Day Meetup, + Free Hillsdale Class!

by redrocks | 1:42 pm, August 30, 2011

There will be no September 5th Red Rocks meetup, in observance of Labor Day.  Next meetup will be September 19th, location to be announced.
ALSO, please be sure to take advantage of a *FREE* upcoming class on the Constitution being provided by Hillsdale College.  Featuring Congressmen Paul Ryan and Charles Krauthammer, the six week course (webinar [...]

Operation Fast and Furious – Director Resigns

by Mr. Bob | 12:09 pm, August 30, 2011

Acting ATF Director Kenneth Melson– the man in charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms during “Operation Fast and Furious”– is stepping down, according to the Chicago Tribune.Melson’s resignation and reassignment comes in the m…

In Colorado, We Play Double-A Ball

by Jon Caldara | 11:00 am, August 30, 2011

According to this Barron’s magazine report, we’re not California and we’re not Illinois.
Yet.
Barron’s cover story this month is about state credit ratings. As you might imagine, California and Illinois are at the bottom of the list. Moving from the absolute bottom of the barrel on up, you run into some other pretty obvious states: New [...]

Michigan Legislator Attacks Choice, Wants Public Schools to Control Who Attends

by Eddie | 10:00 am, August 30, 2011

From the files of “I’m glad s/he’s not my state legislator,” we turn to the state of Michigan — where lawmakers are considering a plan to give families greater choice through mandatory public school open enrollment. A recent Associated Press story highlights some of the outrageous rhetoric from the opposition:

State Rep. Timothy Bledsoe, a Democrat [...]

Occupy Wall Street Sept 17 – A Marxist Rally

by Mr. Bob | 9:43 am, August 30, 2011

#tcot #socialism #teaparty #anarchy
Don’t be fooled. These are not your friends or fellow patriots. They will try to lure you in as comrades. These are the Unions, Progressives, Communists, Marxists, Socialists, Anarchists – they bring the rage. Th…

Tuesday Morning Spy

by Joshua Sharf | 6:08 am, August 30, 2011

It’s not just the Denver Post who’s incurious. It’s not just guitar-makers who are getting sandbagged. And it’s not just Wisconsin who’s letting local governments cut down on fringe benefits. Why the address for protesting Gilad Shalit’s captivity is Gaza, not Jerusalem.  The left sees this as a way to bludgeon Netanyahu, but any honest [...]

Colorado’s health insurance exchange: controlled by Feds, limited choice

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

State-based insurance exchanges will be largely controlled by federal edicts. They will not give Americans the same insurances choices as Congress members, and they limit choice. Continue reading →

Can’t you take a joke?

by Rossputin | 5:29 am, August 30, 2011

The problem with Michele Bachmann’s quip that the recent Virginia-centered earthquake and Hurricane Irene were a political message from god is not that she made a joke. It’s that the media wasn’t sure whether it was a joke, and perhaps, not least because of that same media, many of the public might also not have been sure.

Conservative pundits as wise and experienced as Rush Limbaugh (and I mean it sincerely when I say he is both) suggest that overt religiosity, such as Rick Perry’s will be irrelevant to the electorate if the focus of the 2012 election remains on jobs. That might be true, but are you willing to bet 4 more years of Barack Obama on it?

The more that Michele Bachmann, whom I have met and spoken with and like a lot, and Rick Perry can be portrayed by the media as right-wing kooks, the more the media will go out of their way to do just that. Not only because they hate Republicans but because stuff like that sells newspapers and TV ads.

I take Michele Bachmann at her word that she was joking. But she needs to understand that the fact that her comments might have been perceived otherwise is no laughing matter.

And if you want to look no further for evidence, just see this very NY Post article, with the Post not being a particularly left-leaning publication, wasting a full paragraph describing how Bachmann confused Elvis Presley’s birthday with the day he died or that she erred in saying that John Wayne was born in her home town. Yes, the long knives are out for conservatives in the media. Conservatives must not then paint bright targets on their backs which even a dim-witted reporter can’t miss. And, yes, I know there’s a massive double standard between media treatment of conservative politicians versus the kid gloves usually given to liberals. But there’s nothing we’re going to do about that this week or this decade, so live with it and don’t play into their hands.

In which the Washington Bureau Chief mocks the afflicted

by Eileen McGuire-Mahony | 12:56 am, August 30, 2011

Affirmative action for ugly people.  Yes. Of course, the op-ed calling for this hideous policy came out in today’s New York Times.  The facts are these; a man, a friggin’ economics Ph.D, thinks the ugliest people in the population – the 1-2% of the population who look like they’re half badger – ought to have a right [...]

Post Qaddafi Libya Highlights Challenges for Next President

by Kelly Sloan | 4:37 pm, August 29, 2011

The removal of Muammar Qaddafi is hardly unwelcome news. The Libyan tyrant, responsible for (among other things) the Lockerbie bombing, the killing of U.S. servicemen in Germany, and for opening his country up to terrorist groups of all stripes for training, has been an on-again- off-again threat to the West for several decades. Although the [...]

Kudos to Indiana Families, Reformers for Early Choice Scholarship Success

by Eddie | 4:04 pm, August 29, 2011

Was it really less than three weeks ago I wondered aloud about the pending school choice rulings here in Colorado and in Indiana? While a Denver District Court judge put a (temporary) halt to the Douglas County Choice Scholarship Program, a few days later Hoosier families celebrated a better result. Today Associated Press writer Tom [...]

How Will CO Figure in 2012?

by Jon Caldara | 2:19 pm, August 29, 2011

How will Colorado figure in this coming presidential election? Watch the latest episode of my show to find out!

PPC Exclusive: Colorado Green Jobs Report Estimates Put Number At 2.8% of State Workforce

by elpresidente | 1:56 pm, August 29, 2011

The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment released an “Interim Report on Green Jobs in the Colorado Economy” in late July estimating that 61,239 jobs, or roughly 2.8% of the state’s workforce, can be classified as a “green job” under the rubric drawn up by CDLE, the Office of Labor Market Information, and the Business [...]

Media Bias? What Media Bias?

by elpresidente | 9:38 am, August 29, 2011

There is a media bias, according to Professor Tim Groseclose of UCLA, and a rather substantial one at that. His new book, “Left Turn: How Liberal Media Bias Distorts the American Mind,” uses what he calls peer-reviewed (Harvard) “political quotient” measurements to establish where any particular person falls on a political spectrum. Groseclose also measures [...]

Lies, Damn Lies, and Infographics

by Joshua Sharf | 9:00 am, August 29, 2011

This is what happens when people get outside their area of competence.  FastCoDesign.com has its Infographic of the Day, and it can be a delight to behold. But sometimes, like people who fell in love with the Obama “O,” they end up missing the flaws because they’ve fallen in love with the graphic design.  The [...]

Final Week for Colorado Reapportionment Commission hearings – public testimony on state legislative district maps

by CTBC Director | 8:29 am, August 29, 2011

The Colorado Reapportionment Commission (charged with drawing our state legislative districts) has completed the final set of preliminary legislative district maps for Colorado, having heard public testimony in meetings in Denver from 31 May to 25 July and bringing the maps to a vote in committee.
This week, the commission wraps up its road show, traveling around [...]

Monday Morning Spy

by Joshua Sharf | 6:07 am, August 29, 2011

Hey, Tom Friedman, call your office.  Those environmentally- and safety-conscious Chinese have done it again, as their major oil refinery catches on fire for the 2nd time in the last few months. Europe, call a cab.  It looks as though Germany is throwing you out of its basement. Or, you could call for a bus.  [...]

The inevitable "exchange" metastasis

by Rossputin | 5:40 am, August 29, 2011

Colorado’s SB200 which created a health care “exchange” for the state after the bill was sponsored by House Majority Leader Amy Stephens (R-Monument) is already demonstrating the first of its unintended consequences. By this I mean the consequences unintended by the well-meaning but misguided Republicans, including my friend Amy, who supported it; the consequences were fully intended by the Democrats who supported it.

Namely, a panel overseeing the development of the exchange is proposing using the system to automatically qualify people for and enroll people in other entitlement programs, potentially adding millions of dollars to the already bloated state budget.

The Pueblo Chieftain has a fairly thorough article on the controversy here and although the story isn’t much different, it’s interesting to see the issue get national coverage through the AP (as reported in the Houston Chronicle here.)

Entitlements are bankrupting every level of government in this country and should – must – be reined in.

Nevertheless, the debate in the media between Republican State Senator Kevin Lundberg and Democrat State Senator Beth McCain is an interesting one. Here are the two relevant quotes:

Lundberg: “We need not go out and market these (entitlement program) systems and find ways to aggressively push them toward people. To me, it feeds an entitlement mentality.”

McCann: “If (Republicans) have a fundamental problem with the qualification for entitlements, then that’s what we should be talking about. But taking the eligibility level we’ve already set and saying it will make it too easy for people to get the benefits they are eligible for is not a very convincing argument to me.”

They both have valid points, but (not surprisingly) I side with Lundberg: Not only will making getting other people’s money with a couple clicks of a mouse feed an entitlement mentality, but it is also a recipe for fraud on a massive scale, not least because of Colorado’s persistent failures in the area of technology and database management.

In America, we take care of those who truly can’t take care of themselves. Everyone else must show at least some effort, especially if they’re trying to live off other people’s earnings; whether that is due to true need or true sloth is only marginally relevant.

Perhaps the whole discussion shows how liberty and economic rationality automatically lose simply because these programs are defined with the world “entitlement.” Since when, outside of Marxism (which must now include Social Security), is an American entitled to the fruits of someone else’s labor, investment prowess, or even just dumb luck?

No, these are not “entitlement” programs. They are wealth redistribution programs done in the name of helping the needy. Perhaps slightly less immoral than wealth redistribution for its own sake but nevertheless still in the category that Bastiat in his seminal work The Law called “lawful plunder.“

Democrat State Senator Betty Boyd, the senate sponsor of SB200, offered some short-term common sense: “Right now the (exchange) board should focus on its core mission, and that is to help Coloradans purchase health insurance.” Still, one can’t help but notice that dangerous qualifier, “right now.” What comes after “right now”? With the current push to expand welfare payments through the exchange, we’ve just seen the preview, and it ain’t pretty.

Let this be a lesson to other states thinking about implementing a health care exchange. As with anything with even a marginal tie to Obamacare, it is a cancer waiting to metastasize.

Poverty, equality, and the free-market

by Brian T. Schwartz | 5:30 am, August 29, 2011

“If left wing political theory is true, we should expect to see huge inequalities in the ownership of goods sold in the market, but fairly equal consumption in health care & education. But there’s the irony. The exact opposite of this prediction has been borne out!’ Continue reading →

Rep. Mike Coffman Town Hall Meeting, Featuring MoveOn Hecklers

by T.L. James | 10:19 pm, August 28, 2011

Here is the full video from yesterday morning’s town hall meeting in Littleton. A local MoveOn.org organizer was trying last week to get people to show up and ask questions featuring the inane mantra “Jobs Not Cuts” — as you’ll see, a couple people worked it into their questions/statements, and the rest just heckled in [...]

Jobs and the Pantheon

by Joshua Sharf | 9:58 pm, August 28, 2011

Where does he belong? America still has rock star CEOs: Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, Jack Welch, Michael Eisner, and the subject of today’s discussion, Steve Jobs.  Only Gates and Jobs were personally innovative, though, and between the two, only Jobs created products that people want to need, as opposed to ones they feel they’re stuck [...]

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