21,000 state workers will receive ballots in the very near future that will determine whether they will be represented by the Colorado WINS labor coalition.

The Rocky reports, “The unions, which had fewer than 6,000 dues-paying state workers on their rolls before the Nov. 2 order, could soon represent the vast majority of the state’s 32,000 qualifying workers.”

The determination will be made on the outcome of votes cast, NOT a majority of total workers. Therefore, those abstaining from voting will be submitting themselves to the outcome of a vote they did not participate in. And unfortunately for those folks, Ritter’s executive order does not prevent collection of dues from non-union members or those uninterested in any sort of representation.

See Ben DeGrow’s post at Mt. Virtus to learn more and to access a collection of his commentary on the issue.

My minions have done it again. Here is their latest masterpiece that can be found on our YouTube video page.

Habtamu Dugo relays his life story as a reporter living inside a brutal police state. His focus on human rights issues in his writings and blog were met with strange phone calls, involving threats of beatings, prison, and death. Dugo soon found out that remaining anonymous was not going to stop a violent regime from making good on their promises. Hear this fascinating story of courage in the face of intimidation, abuse, and oppression.

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

This guy is absolutely
loving this court decision.

From the Coloradoan, “In a 5-2 decision, the state’s highest court overturned an earlier state Court of Appeals ruling that the Poudre Education Association and Colorado Education Association violated state laws prohibiting union expenditures or contributions on elections by organizing two walks to promote the candidacy of longtime educator Bob Bacon in his race against former Fort Collins Mayor Ray Martinez.”

Ben DeGrow over at Mt. Virtus points out, “More clearly than ever, unions are on the advance in Colorado – and this time at the expense of fair elections and individual rights.”

In other words, when guys like our cigar smoking buddy up there start putting on political fundraisers with collected union dues, we’ve got a problem. There is a reason why it is illegal for unions to make political contributions, and this decision blurs that line, if not erases it. Hopefully, this will prompt paying union members to demand that their dues not go towards political candidates. It might be that sort of agitation that could curtail some future fundraising events.

The Rocky came out swinging in their editorial section today. Not only did they expose the unfairness of RTD offering losses to their eminent domain victims, they exposed RTD’s hypocrisy in selling off 315 acres of land that it no longer needs, “…but only if it can get back the total $18.2 million it paid.” You can’t have it both ways RTD. Of course you should have the right to break even, but so should the property owners you’re targeting. The editorial goes on to applaud what we are doing here at Independence, specifically Jessica Corry’s contributions.

“Corry is right: It’s only common sense that those enduring a property condemnation at least be compensated at the level they’re being taxed. That’s why we’re glad to learn that she and her colleagues at the institute are pursuing their model legislation that addresses this discrepancy.”

We appreciate the editorial kudos from the Rocky, and plan on continuing our efforts here to protect property owners in and around the west corridor.

Oil and gas is a $23 billion industry in the state of Colorado. Governor Bill Ritter and the state legislature have threatened the industry with onerous regulations and a pending, massive tax increase. Will oil and gas companies leave Colorado taking high paying jobs with them? What does the excessive government interference mean to Colorado consumers? What will happen to Colorado’s overall economy? To answer these questions and more, Greg Schnacke from Americans for American Energy and Bishop Phillip Porter from Colorado Consumers for Affordable Energy join me on Independent Thinking on KBDI Channel 12, Thursday night at 8:30 p.m. and repeated the following Tuesday evening at 5 p.m.

Don’t think your kids are coddled enough in school? Try this new policy on for size. From USA Today, “In most math problems, zero would never be confused with 50, but a handful of schools nationwide have set off an emotional academic debate by giving minimum scores of 50 for students who fail.” In other words, students who do not get a single answer right on a test would receive a score of 50, not 0. That’s about as stupid as me not showing up to work one day but still receiving half my pay check. You can bet the same crowd that brought us such wonderful policies as “use nice purple ink, not evil red ink” and “don’t give out letter grades, it’s discouraging” came up with this masterpiece. How about this for a policy change – high expectations and standards and strict accountability.

H/T: Ed @ Ed is Watching.

Come join us tonight to see Flunked! Call Kay at 303-279-6536 to RSVP now!

Ethiopian thugs run a tight and tortured ship. They control the monopolized telecommunications industry, block any and all websites they don’t agree with, and restrict Internet access to as many people as possible. In addition, for the lucky few who get access, they keep an eye on who is using the Internet, how often, and when. This is the climate Habtamu Dugo, persecuted Ethiopian journalist, describes in our latest ivoices.org podcast. Tune in to hear about life in a police state. By the end, you’ll realize why Habtamu was forced to flee his home country, and is so grateful to live in a free country.

Light rail is a hot news topic these days. The Rocky Mountain News ran an article yesterday similar to the Denver Daily News article that ran a couple of weeks ago.  More eminent domain letters are in the mail and property owners are feeling shafted by what appears to be consistent low-ball offers. According to the Rocky, ”Smith and Guy, who borrowed $165,000 and invested another $20,000 or so in materials and sweat equity for remodeling, are looking at an offer from RTD to buy them out for $160,000.”

Word is, the offer was issued in a Thank You card with these handwritten words, “Dear Smith and Guy, allow this offer to take a loss as thanks for risking your sweat and financial well-being in fixing up an old property to create a business and contribute to the economy. Many thanks, RTD.”

Which prompted the biggest understatement of the article, “Smith was an avid supporter of the rail project, but the prospect of losing $25,000 soured him.”

Soured? I’m sure just a tad. 5280 Magazine released an article about a naive light rail traveler.  It illustrates the lack of responsiveness that inherently exists in government-implemented ventures. Despite the obvious need for more parking, RTD can sit on its hands and not deliver because it does not have to be sensitive to paying customers’ needs in order to survive. If RTD were exposed to market forces, it wouldn’t last a day acting like such a bully.

With a possible 150 to 200 more letters dropping sometime in the near future, expect RTD and light rail to stay relevant in the mainstream media. You can bet on more coverage here, the Property Rights Project, and our growing multimedia page. Stay tuned.