More scary than any chainsaw wielding boogyman, more frightening than Wes Craven’s most disturbing nightmare – the 2008 legislative session is underway. Hold on to your wallets and lock up your civil liberties before it’s too late.

For a preview of what Coloradans can expect from their state legislators, tune in to Independent Thinking as Dan Haley from the Denver Post and Lynn Bartels of the Rocky Mountain News join me to discuss possible nefarious legislative plans. That’s this Thursday night at 8:30 p.m. on KBDI Channel 12; repeated the following Tuesday evening at 5 p.m. To watch previous episodes, go here and enjoy.

and what we need to do about it.

Please join us this Friday, January 25, to hear former Denver Public
Schools Superintendent Dr. Jerry Wartgow share some of the perspectives
featured in his new book Why School Reform is Failing and What We Need to Do About It: 10 Lessons from the Trenches.

In particular, Dr. Wartgow will relate his experiences from the education
reform “trenches,” battling the obstacles of restrictive legislation,
litigation, and labor agreements. You won’t want to miss this important
discussion, as we look to the future of education reform in Colorado.

Don’t forget to RSVP today!

The event will be held at our Independence Institute Offices:

13952 Denver West Parkway (Building 53), Suite 400, Golden, CO 80401 Directions can be found here.

Friday, January 25 schedule:

5:00 PM Private pre-meeting with teachers
5:30 PM Reception with refreshments
6:15 PM Presentation

If you can’t attend in person, listen online at Live.iVoices.org.

Not to beat a dead horse or anything, but Jessica Corry has written a good piece on the repercussions of the Doug Bruce fiasco. She makes the important point that, had it been anyone else doing the kicking, the ensuing apology-free melodrama would affect only them.  However, Doug Bruce is “Mr. Tabor.” He is the face of the anti-tax, limited government movement. Therefore his actions affect more than just him. They have the potential to hurt the very movement to which we here at II are so deeply committed.  It is unfortunate that the good he has done for the average Colorado taxpayer, now may be overlooked because of his lack of remorse for the average photographer.

You missed out on my Doug Bruce inspired intro.  It was reprinted in full in the Rocky Mountain News and received a hat tip from the Colorado Springs Gazette.  In order to make sure that doesn’t happen again, sign up for our weekly Independence Institute newsletter.  That way you won’t be out of the loop at the water cooler.  But because I’m such a nice guy, I will let you in on this one just this one time:

“I have implemented a new motivational program here at Independence. The Douglas Bruce “Work-Can-Be-a-Kick” plan has my team running, some limping, to new heights. I was a little skeptical when I saw the late-night infomercial for the tapes. I mean really, how could I believe “30 days to a more obedient staff or your money back – and you can keep the shin guards as my free gift!” But our new photographer-kicking legislator’s program has turned my office around. Dave Kopel now only drinks scotch during lunch hour or in the men’s room. Pam Beningo hasn’t come out of her office in over two days. And Ben Degrow is just huddled in a corner, holding his kneecaps and whimpering.

I have been an ally of Douglas Bruce many times over the years, and I’m sure will be again. He is as intelligent as he can be rude. But, his behavior on the house floor was uncalled for and undignified. Douglas, it is time for an apology.”

While Doug Bruce may have some anger management issues, he still remains right on many issues. His recent opposition to house bills with unnecessary safety clauses reminds me of an op-ed by one of our interns (or as we like to call them: “fresh meat”) written last summer. Katherine Berezowskyi argued that the safety clause is abused in order to keep potentially unpopular bills from being challenged by the public. And the numbers indicate that apparently, there are a lot of unpopular bills! 70% of House bills and 82% of Senate bills in 2007 included the clause. I had no idea that we citizens were such a danger to the legislative process that most bills need to be shielded from the remote chance of a citizen recall.

As you might have heard, in a previous life I was a cartoonist and for five lonely years struggled to get my comic strip, “B Street” into about 50 newspapers across the country. I’d be rich and famous today if only I knew how to draw, spell or be funny. But, alas, where I fail others succeed. Let me welcome you all to the inaugural edition of Funny Friday. We are honored to have Ben Hummel of Politix Cartoons on board with us. Ben is blessed with tremendous talent and creativity and we look forward to a chuckle every Friday courtesy of Ben.

Our new podcast on iVoices is extremely important for Colorado parents. Your calendar should indicate that it is January, which means it is open enrollment time for most school districts. The open enrollment process is about as easy as escaping an interview with Doug Bruce unscathed, but fortunately, our Education Policy Center does a great job of answering common questions and concerns, as well as locating the right school for your kids with its School Choice for Kids website. Center director Pam Benigno and Raaki Garcia-Ulam discuss the website and its capabilities in helping parents choose the right school for their kids.

Get out your day planners and calendars. Tomorrow the 17th is a big day. We’ve got a big Independent Thinking tomorrow night airing on KBDI channel 12 at 8:30. True to his term limits pledge, U.S. Senator Wayne Allard is not seeking re-election, leaving the seat open in a competitive race that so far includes Democratic hopeful Mark Udall and Republican State Board of Education member Bob Schaffer. I will be interviewing the Republican hopeful about his strategy to keep the seat in Republican hands.

Also, don’t forget about the important Colorado Union of Taxpayers (CUT) event tomorrow morning at the Grant Street Panera Bread downtown. There will be lively discussion focusing on the theme, “What are they going to do to us?” In other words, how many more hands will reach into our pockets without our permission.

David Kopel has written a wonderfully enlightening piece on the relationship between the first and second clauses of the Second Amendment – in light of the unconstitutional D.C. gun ban. “Second Amendment nullificationists,” as David calls them, point to the word “militia” in the first clause and go on to discredit the entire amendment based on the word being “outdated.” I believe the kids would call this old-school hating. David however, points out the error in this thinking and reinforces the relevancy and necessity of both clauses. We can only hope that the Supreme Court receives a strong dose of Kopelization before hearing the important and upcoming District of Columbia v. Heller case.

The Colorado Daily News made us an offer we couldn’t refuse. Starting today, the Independence Institute will provide some colorful balance to the Boulder based publication. Our column titled Independent Ideas will appear every other Monday. Mike Krause won the honor of having the inaugural piece. It focuses on the state department’s irrational support of authoritarian China over the largely free and democratic Taiwan. Check it out, if only for the provocative title. It’s proof yet again that attention grabbing headlines can get you far in today’s media. Lucky for us, our expertise lies in headline grabbing…. and beer drinking.