Check out this new Independent Teachers video about what happens when a non-union school employee who is forced to opt out of paying union fees every year misses the deadline because of family medical emergencies:

Teachers Unions Abuse Non-Teachers\’ Paychecks

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, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these rights are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.  That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.” [Read more →]

Four years ago, Colorado voters decided to trust Democrats with complete control of state government — the governor’s mansion and large majorities in the legislature.

As voters consider their choices for 2010, they might be surprised by how little governing Democrats have trusted voters in those four years. [Read more →]

After imposing more than $1 billion a year in tax and fee increases – without once seeking voter approval – liberal Democrats in the Colorado legislature now want voters to permit them to raise taxes without limitation and without ever asking voters again.

Can you say, “Oblivious to irony”? [Read more →]

Continuing his “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” routine Michael Farrand Bennet is spending some of his $4.8 million campaign war chest on a new television commercial that strongly suggests that Bill Ritter’s personal senator believes Coloradans are suckers – or at least that enough can be suckered in order for him to win his first real election.

The commercial toggles between the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., and scenes from Washington County on Colorado’s Eastern Plains.  Bennet, who grew up in Washington, D.C., and has lived in Colorado for a mere 13 years, wants us to believe that he’s a regular Joe, just a common, hard-workin’ good ol’ boy. [Read more →]

Economic illiteracy has its advantages, especially for liberal agitators who seem disproportionately afflicted by it.

A few weeks ago, the whiny left erupted with feigned outrage when Republican U.S. Senate candidate Jane Norton noted the obvious — that Social Security has become “a Ponzi scheme.”

For anyone who understands economics and the fraudulent way the federal government constructed Social Security, Norton’s observation was a simple statement of fact. [Read more →]

Legislators talk frequently about the Law of Unintended Consequences but rarely seem to recognize when a bill they support will, if passed, inevitably collide with that law.  Such is the case with House Bill 1021, which would require individual insurance policies to cover a normal pregnancy, childbirth, maternity care, pregnancy management and contraception.

At first glance, that sounds like a reasonable idea: women who buy their own health insurance ought to be able to purchase coverage for pregnancy.  Now stand in the shoes of another woman — one who isn’t pregnant, or plans not to become pregnant, or is beyond childbearing years, or is unable even to have children:  if state law requires all policies to cover pregnancy, then state law requires everyone to pay for pregnancy coverage, whether they want it or not. [Read more →]

The anti-taxpayer majority on the Colorado Supreme Court soon will have another chance to stand the constitution on its head, thanks to a remarkably unambiguous ruling by the Colorado Court of Appeals. [Read more →]

I’ve just update our coffee listing, adding some new finds (Cafe Caliente in West Denver, Frankie’s Coffee in Fort Morgan) and suggestions, particularly from my West Slope friends (Leisure Mountain Studio in Yampa, The Looney Bean in Montrose, and Durango Joe’s in Durango).

Unfortunately, we’re also saying goodbye to some good ones: Perk & Play in Denver and Java The Hut in Woodland Park.

Although I’d like to try every coffee joint in the state, responsibility doesn’t allow it, so tip me off to your favorites, too!

Of all the fairy tales that liberal politicians seem to believe — such as man-made global warming or that more government health care spending will reduce the deficit — there one fable they seem unable to comprehend: “The Goose That Laid the Golden Egg.” [Read more →]