What is it about Washington, D.C., that turns the brains of otherwise intelligent people into mashed potatoes?
Americans say we want our energy to be cleaner, more affordable and less reliant on foreign sources. Even if those desires are incompatible, Congress is in the business of making promises, not making people face tough choices.
So what […]

Filed under: Notes, Capitol Review on January 28th, 2008 | No Comments »

Environmental controlsBy David Harsanyi, Denver PostIn the very near future, environmentally conscious Americans may have to ask themselves if individual and economic freedom matters. It’s similar to the rhetoric liberals accuse George Bush of abusing. If you don’t know what I mean, try substituting the word "terrorism" for "global warming."

Filed under: Notes, Must Reads on January 15th, 2008 | No Comments »

Saving Our Future Requires Tough Choices Today David Walker, Comptroller General of the United States The eye-opening, unvarnished truth about the fiscal condition of the United States government, directly from the Governmental Accountability Office.  (PDF file)
U.S. Comptroller says Medicare program endangers fiscal stabilityCBS News"What’s going on right now is we’re spending more money than we […]

Filed under: Notes, Must Reads on January 10th, 2008 | No Comments »

When the Colorado General Assembly reconvened Wednesday, great fanfare accompanied the election of Sen. Peter Groff as the first African-American Senate president in Colorado. However, Groff’s leadership has the potential to construct a legacy that is more than symbolic.
For three years, Groff and I served together in the Colorado Senate. We stand on opposite sides […]

Filed under: Notes, Capitol Review on January 10th, 2008 | No Comments »

Rarely does the New York Times hit the nail on the head, but just as "a stopped clock is right twice a day," a recent Times/CBS poll confirmed that most Republicans (76 percent) don’t know what to make of the party’s candidates for president. Count me among them.
In judging among candidates for president, my […]

Filed under: Notes, Capitol Review on December 20th, 2007 | No Comments »

U.N. CLIMATE DISTRACTIONSSteven Milloy, JunkScience.comDon’t be distracted by the alarmist arm-waving and sideshows about the North Pole melting, polar bears drowning and the myriad other supposed catastrophes mentioned in the same breath as manmade CO2 emissions and global warming. There’s no evidence that manmade CO2 emissions have any created any environmental problem and certainly no […]

Filed under: Notes, Must Reads on November 26th, 2007 | No Comments »

Just as the Declaration of Independence invoked the Creator as the source of our inalienable rights, the tradition of a National Day of Thanksgiving further confirms that the founding generation found nothing unusual about viewing government through the dual lenses of faith and reason.
Too often the debate over the proper role of religion in government […]

Filed under: Notes, Capitol Review on November 21st, 2007 | No Comments »

"Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody ever does anything about it." — Mark Twain.
You might say the same goes for health care.  Politicians are constantly tinkering, making promises they can’t deliver, and usually creating a bigger mess than the one they promised to fix.
Ironically, despite the abysmal record of lawmakers and bureaucrats to […]

Filed under: Notes, Capitol Review on November 5th, 2007 | No Comments »

Given the special relationship we have with our pets and the tenderness we feel toward animals that rely on us for protection and sustenance, it’s no wonder that so many of us feel disgust and contempt when we read about people who show blatant disregard for animals.
A Denver man accused of twisting the head off […]

Filed under: Notes, Capitol Review on October 3rd, 2007 | No Comments »

Much of our country’s simmering dialogue on immigration sooner or later turns to the question of hiring people to perform certain "jobs Americans won’t do."
Rarely, however, do policymakers address why Americans apparently refuse to do certain jobs while immigrants go to great trouble and expense to come here to perform those very jobs.
Many of the […]

Filed under: Notes, Capitol Review on September 28th, 2007 | No Comments »

Wrapping my head around FredJonah GoldbergTrimming the responsibilities of government to a few important and constitutional functions would constitute real reform. Right now, the only bandwagon for a message even remotely like that is the Ron Paul campaign, and unfortunately, that bandwagon long ago barreled past conservatism to swampy territory outside the borders of common […]

Filed under: Notes on September 8th, 2007 | No Comments »

Two years ago, lawmakers asked voters for a "timeout" from the spending restrictions of the Taxpayers Bill of Rights (TABOR) in order to allow the state budget to rebound from the recession of 2001-2002.
Referendum C, which passed by a narrow 52 to 48 percent margin, erased the TABOR spending limits for five years and permanently […]

Filed under: Notes, Capitol Review on August 29th, 2007 | No Comments »

Anyone who has grown up on a farm or ranch hears this maxim, "Take care of the land, and the land will take care of you." A farmer or rancher who doesn’t take care of the soil will soon find that the soil won’t produce enough to make ends meet.
But you don’t need to […]

Filed under: Notes, Capitol Review on August 29th, 2007 | No Comments »

When we consider drastically altering our expectations of government, we risk undermining the principles on which our country was founded and proving Ronald Reagan’s maxim: "Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction."
Every expansion of government entitlements masquerading as rights — like a "right to health care" — is a dangerous step along […]

Filed under: Notes, Capitol Review on August 20th, 2007 | No Comments »

Truth Laid BairdBy James Taranto, Opinion JournalOne Democrat Congressman who opposed the war in Iraq finds reason to keep our troops in place.  To him, it’s more important to do right than to be right.
Tragic ImplicationsBy Thomas SowellNobody names pothole repairs for anybody or puts any politician’s name on the rivets used to repair an […]

Filed under: Notes, Must Reads on August 20th, 2007 | No Comments »

Photo ops take priority over bridgesThomas SowellSome people claim that the problem is how much money it would take to properly maintain bridges, highways, dams and other infrastructure. But money is found for other things, including things far less urgent and some things that are even counterproductive.
Democrats don’t care about the poorAnn CoulterDemocrats don’t care […]

Filed under: Notes, Must Reads on August 1st, 2007 | No Comments »

If you’re an internet news junkie, I’d suggest you add these links to your daily surfing destinations:
VictoryCaucus.comIf you’re tired of getting your Iraq news from reporters who can’t seem to see past body counts, then you should check out VictoryCaucus.com.  Here you’ll find information from people on the ground and who see "the big picture."
WhatsNewsColorado.comThe […]

Filed under: Notes, Must Reads on July 30th, 2007 | No Comments »

If you’ve ever been disappointed by a meal at a fancy restaurant or researched a major purchase, you know that a big price tag doesn’t guarantee the best quality.
Careful consumers want the most bang for their buck — not the most bucks for their bang.
Unfortunately, big-government liberals seem to think that spending is the best […]

Filed under: Notes, Capitol Review on July 17th, 2007 | No Comments »

Conservative’s shouldn’t give up global warming fightSteven MilloyIn the cover story of the June 25 National Review, software company CEO Jim Manzi wrote that conservatives should stop "denying" that humans are warming the planet.  Manzi says conservatives should believe in global warming, not because of "liberal scaremongering … but because of the underlying physics" — […]

Filed under: Notes, Must Reads on July 6th, 2007 | No Comments »

As we observe the anniversary of the Declaration of Independence this Fourth of July, we should consider the unique form of government for which our Founding Fathers chose to risk “their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor” against the militarily-superior British.
The definitive passage in the Declaration reads:  "We hold these truths to be self-evident, […]

Filed under: Notes, Capitol Review on July 5th, 2007 | No Comments »