Archives for 2008

Hillary Clinton will be among the first Obama Cabinet nominations before the Senate. Her confirmation is assured since Democrats will hold the largest majority in the upper chamber in decades, however Senators should ask the tough questions out of duty to their offices. The confirmation of Clinton’s predecessor, Condoleezza Rice, was the most contentious Secretary [...]

Cheap oil is one of the few silver linings in the current worldwide recession. That is unless you are Hugo Chavez or one of his US bashing comrades. When oil traded for above $100 per barrel, Chavez was a powerful figure in Latin America. He solidified his dictatorship over Venezuela by selling an oil funded [...]

To be filed under ‘silver lining,’ this blog wants to thank Gov. Blagojevich for choosing the best kind of corruption. Unlike so many of his peers, both Republican and Democrat, Blagojevich chose to peddle his influence in broad daylight and in exchange for cash. Unless the FBI criminal complaint is completely false, the case against [...]

In the easiest scoop of the year, the Rocky Mountain News self reported that it is for sale. While its owners and publishers blustered that this is not the end for the Rocky, the Rocky is a failed business. Even without any debt, even if acquired for free, the Rocky cannot cover its operation costs. [...]

President Elect Obama and Colorado Governor Bill Ritter sing in harmony about creating millions of “green energy” jobs. While any government created job is of suspect value, these new jobs are especially troublesome, and taxpayers should be alarmed at their impacts. In fact the “green economy” will cost jobs, stifle economic growth, limit positive investment, [...]

The government is in a giving mood lately, having bailed out Fanny, Freddy, AIG, and more. Even Washington elites think the commitment of over a trillion dollars is a lot of money and are wondering what they have bought into. One sure consequence of doling out free money as a reward for failure is that [...]

Colorado Governor Bill Ritter unveiled his latest budget, and it is a combination of an offense to common sense, paper thin pandering to conservatives, and more of the same budgetary manipulation to encourage tax increases that have been the Ritter trademark. Ritter claims that the budget is “conservative,” which means a spending increase of 5%, [...]

Now that the election season is blessedly over, the US begins one of its great perennial intrigues – pardon season. A lame duck president has nothing to lose and is free to exercise his pardon privilege at will. This can reveal the true character of a president, and also his heretofore hidden views. Bush Sr. [...]

On Nov. 4, Colorado voters will decide on a few ballot initiatives that include earmarks, Refs. 50 and 51. These amendments to the State Constitution are an ideal study in how leftists hide their agenda behind feel good measures and why earmarks are inherently lies on a grand scale. Each of these referendums has a [...]

This November’s ballot is crowded, to say the least. Even a well informed voter can be forgiven for forgetting which issue is which. Therefore, without lengthy analysis, here is a list of the issues for Colorado voters and a suggestion on how to vote: Amendment 46: Eliminates Government Affirmative ActionVote: YesReason: The Government does not [...]

The recession is finally here, probably. So, should economists who have been predicting gloom crow? Absolutely not, for two reasons: recessions are inevitable, so predicting them is easy if timing does not matter, and the mere prediction of a recession is not actionable knowledge. Tucker Hart Adams is a famous pessimistic economist. She made her [...]

Many people probably noticed that the stock markets of the world collapsed this week, following steep declines over the past 12 months. The rational question is “has the damage stopped?” To be sure, people’s tolerance for risk, and their trust in the information they receive, are low. People must now be enticed with much higher [...]

The government regulates speech in every conceivable way it can. From Tipper Gore’s effort to regulate song lyrics to the fact that every commercial claim must be passed through a legal sieve to avoid FTC and tort action. Of course, regular vulgarities are regulated as well. Jumping on the censorship bandwagon, this blog is a [...]

One popular catch phrase nowadays is “thinking outside the box,” which refers to thinking beyond one’s normal purview. The next logical question is “how big is this box?” When it comes to the government, the various boxes are so small, one can only laugh. Unfortunately, there are so many boxes, there is no aspect of [...]

Among the laundry list of Colorado constitutional amendments this fall, labor unions have put up Amendment 56, which forces businesses with more than 20 employees to pay for employee health care. The very concept of Amendment 56 exposes the cynical self interest of unions, and a willingness to sacrifice Colorado’s economy to their power agenda. [...]

Many Republicans, and a few Democrats have fallen into immigrant bashing over the past few election cycles. Colorado voters are most familiar with Tom Tancredo, a retiring GOP Congressman who essentially calls for complete and strict enforcement of the US’s immigration laws. Such “just enforce the law” politicians essentially preach the deportation of every illegal [...]

As every feeling person on the earth knows, Global Warming is the greatest crisis in human history. Human generated greenhouse gases are causing hurricanes, droughts, glacier retreats, and coastal flooding. Anyone who denies that Global Warming is the single most important issue before the world should consider recent evidence from Major League Baseball, Global Warming’s [...]

The DNC has left town, and this blogger, who lives in the ‘Yellow’ zone, is relieved to see it go. To be sure, it was exciting to have so many people enjoying the LoDo neighborhood. For a few days, the eyes of the world were on the few city blocks Denver so routinely ignores. The [...]

Aside from the self-satisfaction from saving the world with other people’s money, the primary reason to lean left is their lock on the beautiful people of the world. The entertainment culture is so profoundly left wing that the shock of finding out that Rush Limbaugh was among it’s top earners required an effort to outlaw [...]

Like subatomic particles, far left politicians appear to be be in two places at the same time. The Iraq war is to blame for high oil prices, while at the same time Bush went to war for cheap oil. Big Oil engineered high oil prices, yet domestic oil production is evil and must be banned. [...]

Downtown Denver is full of shame on its streets. Not vandalism, broken sidewalks, drug addicts, or gang thugs, of which there is plenty. No, the shame is not urban decay, the shame appears to be on construction companies who don’t hire union employees to build the several new buildings going up around town. Across Downtown, [...]

Denverites are familiar with the local water service’s ad campaign: “Use Only What You Need.” While there is no reason to waste water, there is especially no reason to waste taxpayer money on an insulting ad campaign that tramples on the Constitution as well as laws designed to help the handicapped. Those familiar with Marx [...]

I recently visited the local hotbed of activism, my dry cleaners. While picking up a stack of clean shirts, I noticed their new sign: “Read Banned Books.” As a libertarian, I was inclined to say “right on!” After all, the free exchange of ideas is the first line of defense against tyranny, hence ranking the [...]

Not many free market libertarians would call Jesse Jackson a hero, but it’s time to consider that label. His impolite comments about Sen. Barak Obama are actually a cause for celebration. Sure, Jackson calls Jews “hymies,” and Obama the dreaded “n-word,” but the underlying frustration in his remarks shows that he is giving up, which [...]

If you haven’t already seen his TV ads, check out www.pickensplan.com. That is the web site of T. Boone Pickens Jr.’s plan to save the USA from its oil addiction. Pickens has used his considerable market and media savy to generate PR in such places as the Wall Street Journal Op-ed page for his big [...]