Denver Judge Blows Up Colorado Education Spending

by Randall Smith | 9:14 am, December 10, 2011

A Denver judge blew the state budget apart yesterday.

In a ruling that could have multi-billion dollar consequences for Colorado’s budget, a Denver judge ruled the state’s school funding system is not “thorough and uniform” as mandated by the state …

Seeing Stars: Kermit the Fraud Here

by Randall Smith | 7:00 am, December 10, 2011

My house has been overrun by tweens. Fortunately, the music of choice has been Weird Al.

On to the links.

Colorado

CTBC has the list of briefs in the never ending reapportionment battle. The Republican minority on the panel filed their minority …

The EPA press release we didn’t read

by amy | 6:39 pm, December 9, 2011

No one read a press release from the Environmental Protection Agency stating that drinking water in Dimock, Pennsylvania is safe to drink and not contaminated by hydraulic fracturing because the EPA didn’t issue one. Instead it sent an email to Dimock residents.
-Original Message—– From: Taylor.Trish <Taylor.Trish@epamail.epa.gov>
To: Cc: Polish.David <Polish.David@epamail.epa.gov>
Sent: Fri, Dec 2, 2011 6:34 am
Subject: [...]

Media acts like eco Chicken Littles

by amy | 6:15 pm, December 9, 2011

Has any media outlet bothered to ask if the EPA’s theory on groundwater contamination in Wyoming and hydraulic fracturing is even right?
The Independence Institute’s Energy Policy Blog can’t be accused (at least not accurately) of being in the tank for the oil and gas industry. We’ve been on opposite sides of several of the industry’s [...]

Thin-filmed solar a foolish investment

by amy | 3:17 pm, December 9, 2011

Taxpayers may have been forced to invest in solar panels, but private investors with a choice aren’t quite so foolish. From today’s Motley Fool column titled “Here are some American eco-investments to avoid” including thin-filmed solar:
I’m dogging (oo-er! — Ed) one of my own investments here, First Solar (NASDAQ: FSLR.US), but outside of that one [...]

“Green” Ain’t Clean

by Jon Caldara | 1:26 pm, December 9, 2011

Wow. Michael Sandoval hits a home run over on our Environmental Policy page. His latest work completely destroys the idea that green = clean. It’s the standard line we hear all the time. “Wind is clean!” “Solar is clean!” “Save our environment!” Well, sorry to let the cat out of the bag, but green is [...]

The Story Behind the Best- and Worst-Run States

by Bob Adelmann | 12:56 pm, December 9, 2011

“You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they?” This is from Matthew 7:16. I think it fits here quite well, don’t you?

Tea Party/GOP Rino War, Tea Party….. Winning!

by Mr. Bob | 12:56 pm, December 9, 2011

#gop #teaparty #winning #tcotThe Tea Party movement has become a major influence in Republican politics. So major in fact, that the party establishment is starting to fight back against it. We can truly say there is a war going on between the Tea Party…

Tea Party/GOP Rino War, Tea Party….. Winning!

by Mr. Bob | 12:56 pm, December 9, 2011

#gop #teaparty #winning #tcotThe Tea Party movement has become a major influence in Republican politics. So major in fact, that the party establishment is starting to fight back against it. We can truly say there is a war going on between the Tea Party…

Tea Party/GOP Rino War, Tea Party….. Winning!

by Mr. Bob | 12:56 pm, December 9, 2011

#gop #teaparty #winning #tcotThe Tea Party movement has become a major influence in Republican politics. So major in fact, that the party establishment is starting to fight back against it. We can truly say there is a war going on between the Tea Party…

Mike Keefe on Cartooning, Ben DeGrow on Teachers Getting $$$ Back

by Jon Caldara | 12:12 pm, December 9, 2011

If you had to choose between watching public affairs television on a Friday night or a poke in the eye, which would it be? On this Friday night’s Devil’s Advocate, first I am joined by the outgoing Mike Keefe to talk about his 35 years as editorial cartoonist at the Denver Post. Then the Independence [...]

Please, Please, Stop the Taxpayer-Funded (Colorado Teachers) Union Madness!

by Eddie | 11:04 am, December 9, 2011

Sometimes you have to look outside the world of education to capture attention for issues affecting Colorado schools and the students and taxpayers invested in their success. Two headlines in particular popped up this week. The first comes from the Goldwater Institute in Arizona, which is litigating Cheatham v. Gordon, a troubling case of wasted [...]

Mitt vs Newt

by Rossputin | 7:51 am, December 9, 2011

People have talked for months, perhaps years, about Mitt Romney’s inconsistencies, about how they feel uncertain as to what position Romney would hold on a particular issue. The story is getting old and tired, but allow me to summarize: for Romneycare, then against the very similar Obamacare; pro-choice, then anti-abortion; pro-gay marriage, then favoring a constitutional definition of marriage.

There are other criticisms of Romney out there: too cautious, too plastic, too “moderate.”

But somehow I remain about as confident in Mitt Romney’s predictability as in Newt Gingrich’s, which is to say not as confident as I’d like but more than confident enough to support him in the general election.

Please read the rest of my article for the American Spectator at:
http://spectator.org/archives/2011/12/09/mitt-versus-newt

Mitt vs Newt

by Rossputin | 7:51 am, December 9, 2011

People have talked for months, perhaps years, about Mitt Romney’s inconsistencies, about how they feel uncertain as to what position Romney would hold on a particular issue. The story is getting old and tired, but allow me to summarize: for Romneycare, then against the very similar Obamacare; pro-choice, then anti-abortion; pro-gay marriage, then favoring a constitutional definition of marriage.

There are other criticisms of Romney out there: too cautious, too plastic, too “moderate.”

But somehow I remain about as confident in Mitt Romney’s predictability as in Newt Gingrich’s, which is to say not as confident as I’d like but more than confident enough to support him in the general election.

Please read the rest of my article for the American Spectator at:
http://spectator.org/archives/2011/12/09/mitt-versus-newt

Colorado Reapportionment Commission ‘Minority Report’ filed as challenge to legislative district maps in Colorado Supreme Court

by CTBC Director | 7:47 am, December 9, 2011

The Colorado Reapportionment Commission (charged with drawing our state legislative districts) officially submitted state legislative district maps rammed through on a party-line vote last week (6-5, with technically unaffiliated Chairman Mario Carrera joining the commission’s other Democrats) to the Colorado Supreme Court for review late Monday (6 December).

House Map: House Resubmitted Plan Maps and Reports
Senate Map: Senate Resubmitted Plan Maps and [...]

Seeing Stars: Called on the Carpet

by Randall Smith | 7:00 am, December 9, 2011

There were two big Congressional hearings today. Michelle Malkin has the play by play.

Attorney General Eric Holder was grilled over Fast and Furious. He testified that guns from the program will be showing up the streets for some time. Holder was th…

Seeing Stars: Called on the Carpet

by Randall Smith | 7:00 am, December 9, 2011

There were two big Congressional hearings today. Michelle Malkin has the play by play.

Attorney General Eric Holder was grilled over Fast and Furious. He testified that guns from the program will be showing up the streets for some time. Holder was th…

Dispelling the Myth of “Clean” Green Energy

by Energy Policy Center | 6:41 am, December 9, 2011

By Michael Sandoval
Clean Water Action’s Gary Wockner plays the card in his Denver Post guest editorial that is usually intended to end any debate between advocates of renewable energy technology and those in favor of continuing the exploration of fossil fuel resources–”What are the environmental impacts?”
Typically, readers are treated to some sort of facile environmental [...]

Two-Tier Wage Pacts Bringing Jobs Back to Detroit

by Bob Adelmann | 5:55 am, December 9, 2011

The real news here isn’t that the two-tier pacts are working, but that there is a huge paradigm shift in how workers are going to be paid in the future. The real story is having the workers enjoy the success of the company, and not the success of their unions hammering the company for more benefits.

Colorado Reapportionment Commission legislative district maps draw challenges, supporters before Colorado Supreme Court

by CTBC Director | 11:11 pm, December 8, 2011

The Colorado Reapportionment Commission (charged with drawing our state legislative districts) officially submitted state legislative district maps rammed through on a party-line vote last week (6-5, with technically unaffiliated Chairman Mario Carrera joining the commission’s other Democrats) to the Colorado Supreme Court for review late Monday.

House Map: House Resubmitted Plan Maps and Reports
Senate Map: Senate Resubmitted Plan Maps and Reports
Google Earth [...]

Jared Polis on U.S. Postal Service: end its “monopolistic protections and special treatment”

by Brian T. Schwartz | 11:00 pm, December 8, 2011

Jared Polis: Ending “monopolistic protections and special treatment enjoyed by USPS” would “benefit … postal customers, postal employees, and businesses in the delivery sector. … Unless we unshackle USPS and allow it to leverage its infrastructure effectively as a normal privately owned company, then USPS will sadly fade away as it becomes increasingly irrelevant in the marketplace.” Continue reading →

Wyoming Governor reacts to EPA “draft finding” on fracturing

by amy | 5:01 pm, December 8, 2011

While the rest of the world loses its collective mind over an Environmental Protection Agency “draft finding” that hydraulic fracturing may be the cause of groundwater contamination in Pavillion, Wyoming, Governor Matt Mead is a voice of reason. In a press release from his office, Mead stated, “the Environmental Protection Agency’s draft study on Pavillion [...]

Occupy the North Pole

by Mr. Bob | 4:55 pm, December 8, 2011

Hat tip MRC

Occupy the North Pole

by Mr. Bob | 4:55 pm, December 8, 2011

Hat tip MRC

Occupy the North Pole

by Mr. Bob | 4:55 pm, December 8, 2011

Hat tip MRC

Reviewing CO’s Campaign Laws

by Ari Armstrong | 4:41 pm, December 8, 2011

Diana Hsieh and I spoke on Colorado’s campaign laws at the December 7 Liberty On the Rocks in Denver.I addressed the general problems with those laws. I remarked, “Colorado citizens with few to no [slight] resources are being dragged into court for dar…

Reviewing CO’s Campaign Laws

by Ari Armstrong | 4:41 pm, December 8, 2011

Diana Hsieh and I spoke on Colorado’s campaign laws at the December 7 Liberty On the Rocks in Denver.I addressed the general problems with those laws. I remarked, “Colorado citizens with few to no [slight] resources are being dragged into court for dar…

Newsmax Media’s Cozy Relationship with the Insiders

by Bob Adelmann | 12:54 pm, December 8, 2011

Just when I was thinking that Newsmax.com was a reliable, honest, independent, objective source for intelligent commentary on current political events, along comes the Iowa debate, manned from top to bottom by insiders with an axe to grind.

Underfunded Project Won’t Be Completed on Time: an RTD Story

by Jon Caldara | 12:30 pm, December 8, 2011

Well, it’s that time again. Time for us at the Independence Institute to say, “I told you so.” It’s quite easy to say I told you so when you have FasTracks around. Anyone can do it really. All you have to do is this: read RTD’s cost estimates and completion dates and… not believe a [...]

Colo. Public Radio on Denver School Choice Expo: Beautiful Real-Life Chaos

by Eddie | 11:26 am, December 8, 2011

A couple weeks ago I reminded you that Colorado’s public school open enrollment season is fast approaching, and mentioned a series of school choice expos hosted by Denver Public Schools (DPS). As it turns out, Colorado Public Radio’s Jenny Brundin attended one of the expos and filed an interesting report about “The Middle School Freak [...]

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