We won!

Denver Distrist Court Judge Christina Habas did what every Democratic state legislator, one lonely Republican legislator (Al White, if memory serves), State Treasurer Cara Kennedy, and Governor Bill Ritter refused to do. She upheld her oath to protect the Colorado Constitution. She declared what we already knew, SB-199, the governor’s mil levy freeze which was going to funnel $4 billion into the state’s general fund over a decade, is unconstitutional.

I couldn’t be more proud of the Independence Institute for taking on this battle. Like so many other battles – if not the Independence Institute, then who?

As much as I personally plan to take credit for our courtroom legal strategy in order to guilt people into buying me drinks, the legal wisdom of our lead attorney Richard Westfall and his partner Alan Hale proved to be superb.

It is a shame that we needed to spend the time and expense of the last year putting together a lawsuit to show politicians that the Constitution means what it says.

I have much more to say about this incredible victory for common sense, but I have to run to the state party convention. So check back here soon.

You might recall that the Colorado Springs Gazette, in supporting our lawsuit against the state’s unconstitutional property tax increase, suggested that there be a statue erected of me. We now have a winner in the “Design the Jon Caldara Statue” contest! Pete Lepetsos created this inspirational masterpiece and for his troubles, he has won 2 tickets to our ATF Party June 28th. I don’t know what I like better, me holding the sword with CU professor Ward Churchill’s head on it, or the sword through the Toyota Prius. If you would like to chair the fundraising committee to commission the piece, please contact us at 303-279-6536.

Click the thumbnail to see the larger, sexier version:

As promised, here are the videos for the latter half of the hour long debate, previously shown web only.
Enjoy!

Ok, so last night on Independent Thinking we had on Secretary of State Mike Coffman, businessman Wil Armstrong, State Senator Ted Harvey and State Representative Steve Ward for a four-way debate concerning the Tancredo vacated 6th congressional district seat. And because 30 minutes was not long enough, we continued the debate for an additional half hour shown on the web only. It was really great stuff. However, if you didn’t catch the show last night or the webcast, don’t fret. I’m going to post the entire debate, all 60 minutes of it, here on my blog.

Starting with part 1, the show:

Colorado CD6 Debate: Part 1

© 2008, Benjamin Hummel. To see more cartoons like this go to www.politixcartoons.com.

By now we’re all privy to CU’s consideration with getting a visiting chair in conservative thought and policy in order to cultivate some intellectual diversity on campus. Or at the very least, have one highly paid target to throw pies at. It has been covered in the Rocky, the Post, the Associated Press, and even in a NY Times opinion piece. Ostensibly the position would be rotating, and would feature high profile conservatives with strong ideological backbones. For example, names like Bill Kristol, George Will, and Condi Rice have been kicked around. For the record, I’m still waiting to be asked. Anyway, in the meantime I wish there was some outlet, some class that embodied the type of conservative, free-market perspective CU is going for….

….. ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh, that’s right! Our Free People, Free Markets class! A class that features so much “intellectual diversity,” it has a disclaimer that reads, “if you live, or have lived in Boulder, please be aware. What you hear in the classroom might induce a conniption fit or make your head explode.”

For those thinking of attending, don’t think, just do it. It will change your life. The class will take place for five consecutive Saturdays here at the Institute, from 9am to noon, beginning July 12th and going to August 9th. You can reserve your spot by either calling Kay at 303.279.6536 or emailing rsvp@i2i.org.

It’s no secret that Colorado’s 6th congressional district leans conservative. Congressman Tom Tancredo won the last two elections by roughly 20 percentage points. With Tancredo not seeking re-election, the republican primary is the race to watch. Independent Thinking has all four candidates: Secretary of State Mike Coffman, businessman Wil Armstrong, State Senator Ted Harvey and State Representative Steve Ward — for a debate hosted by yours truly. That’s tonight at 8:30 p.m. on KBDI Channel 12. Since 30 minutes isn’t enough time to cover the issues with four candidates, visit the Independence Institute website for part 2 of this hour long debate. KBDI will rebroadcast part 1 next Tuesday evening at 5 p.m.

Education Policy Center Director Pam Benigno was interviewed on KUSA, Channel 9 yesterday about a proposal Jeffco Public Schools is considering that would ask voters for more money in two separate ballot issues.

From 9News, “One is a bond between $323 million and $350 million to rebuild and repair eight high schools, four middle schools, and 70 elementary schools…. The other ballot issue will affect taxes. [Superintendent Cindy] Stevenson says JeffCo also needs a mill levy override of between $32 million and $36 million.”

Here is the channel 9 coverage featuring Pam:

Pam was dead on when she said, “I think that this is, this is too much…. However, the system is the problem. They will always need more money.” Exactly. When an organization, like the school system, faces little competition and efficiency pressures, the end result is an everlasting need for more cash. As Pam points out, a couple of solutions that need to be considered include the school district focusing on a more effective way to pay teachers, financial transparency, and more support for charter schools.

Our little friend Eddie at Ed is Watching had this to say about the matter, “I know you often hear some people say that they want to do things “for the children,” but in this case it’s not clear actually how much this money will help the children. We’ve seen there is no connection between spending increases and improving student outcomes. Pam is right: Jeffco needs to start responding better to parents’ demands for different kinds of school choices for their kids first.”

From the CU Silver and Gold Record, “PROFESSOR EMERITUS CHARLES King of Spanish and Portuguese at CU-Boulder was elected president of the Colorado Association of Scholars, the local chapter of the National Association of Scholars (NAS), at a meeting on the Boulder campus April 13.”

For those unfamiliar with the NAS, the Silver and Gold Record goes on, “The NAS, which has more than 3,000 members, opposes the intellectual dilution of the curriculum, political correctness and favoring ethnic and gender diversity over individual and intellectual merit. The NAS has been involved in recent efforts to strengthen Western civilization studies at universities, and it has worked to overturn the use of racial and ethnic quotas in admissions policies and hiring. The association also worked to persuade the National Council on Teacher Accreditation to drop “social justice” as one of its criteria for accrediting teacher training programs at schools of education, according to materials provided by King.”

Congratulations Charles, we are all very proud of you!

Our friends over at the Evergreen Freedom Foundation put together this inspiring tribute to our soldiers past and present who are fighting now and who have fought in the past to protect our freedom and liberty at home. Take a moment today to watch this and reflect.

Enjoy.