Help Colorado opt-out of Obamacare!!  I’m calling for an amendment to the Colorado Constitution that would opt Colorado out the onerous health insurance mandates coming out of Washington DC.

Show your support for this idea by joining Defend Colorado today!  Colorado has a right to decide how we choose to deal with health care and it is my goal to make sure that Washington doesn’t jam Obamacare down the throats of us Coloradans. Check out the Denver Post‘s take on my announcement.

How you can help…

Become a Defend Colorado fan on Facebook

Support our education efforts by making a tax deductible donation to the Independence Institute

So what’s on tap in Colorado politics for 2010? Tune in to Independent Thinking to find out as Dan Haley from the Denver Post and Adam Schrager from Channel 9 News join me for a 2010 political predictions show. If you are a Colorado politics junkie, this is a great way to get your first fix of the New Year. That’s Friday January 1st at 8:30 pm on KBDI, Channel 12. Re-broadcast the following Monday at 1:30 pm.

Big Government Santa is coming, and the Grinches at the Independence Institute are going to stop him. On this week’s Independent Thinking I’m joined by a roundtable of Independence Institute policy center directors including Penn Pfiffner from the Fiscal Policy Center, Pam Benigno form the Education Policy Center, and Jessica Peck Corry from the Campus Accountability Project. Tune in for a holiday-themed discussion about what the free-market freedom fighters at the Independence Institute have been up to in 2009, and what is ahead for 2010. That’s Friday, December 25th at 8:30 pm on KBDI Channel 12, re-broadcast the following Monday at 1:30 pm.

Check out this week’s Independent Thinking as local lawyers David Lane and Ryan Call join me to discuss the future of Colorado’s citizen initiative and referendum process, and House Bill 1326, which throws up numerous new roadblocks to the process. That’s tonight at 8:30 pm on KBDI Channel 12, re-broadcast on Monday at 1:30 pm.

Christmas is slowly closing in, and some of us have not yet finished our shopping.  (no comment).  Let the Independence Institute help you.  My first suggestion was to purchase a great t-shirt from our awesome cartoonist Ben Hummel.

My second suggestion is for your gift-less friends and family members who have the most potential.  We’ve all got friends and family who have done some amazing things.  But really, who’s interested in that?  I’m talking about your friends and family who haven’t yet accomplished something great, but who probably will in the future.  Once you can identify those destined to be great, you might want to consider getting them our “Noble” Prize for Future Accomplishments for Christmas.

Just look how beautiful that is! For only $25 you can purchase one of those puppies. But remember, in order for this gift to make sense, the special someone cannot be guilty of having done something great already. They must be on the verge of greatness.

***(Quantities are EXTREMELY limited, so order now before it’s too late!!)***

More sinister than ghoulish goblins on a dark Halloween night. More evil than stealing candy from children. More satanic than Al Pacino’s character in this evil film….

It’s… THE EVERY MEMBER OPTION REFUND OF POLITICAL MONEY! No union goon can dream up something more evil than telling teachers they can receive some of their own money back.

Thus, I present to my readers the most evil podcast ever recorded! After listening to this podcast featuring education policy analyst Ben DeGrow, you’ll know such sinister information as how to: recognize if you are eligible to receive money back and how to receive some of your money back.

If audio isn’t your thing, then check out this quick video that explains the process:

Our unbelievable cartoonist Ben Hummel has been cranking out great work for us for almost two years now. Unlike my days as a cartoonist drawing my strip called B Street, Ben can actually draw, spell, and be funny. It’s almost like Ben is the Kyle Orton to my Jay Cutler. Anyway, he’s produced some fantastic t-shirts with perhaps his most well-known ‘toon “Political Correctness” as the centerpiece. If you are still searching for that perfect gift for your own politically incorrect family member, friend, or co-worker, pick up a shirt from Ben here.

A note on shipping from Ben:

Shipping is standard USPS, slow boat, if you will, at $4.50 per shirt. If orders are made (I know that this is cutting it close) by December 17th, I can at least have the shirts produced by Christmas. Denver area customers may have to pick up the orders by hand, as USPS probably won’t get it there on time.

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

There have been some on-line discussions recently of whether a federal mandate that individuals obtain health insurance would violate the U.S. Constitution. This issue is distinct from the issue of whether other sorts of government health programs – such as single-payer – would be constitutional.

This week I’m joined by Colorado State Senator Ted Harvey and Kevin Miller of the National Freedom Initiative to discuss the role of social conservatism in American politics and whether people can or should be coerced into virtue through force of government, or if the state should leave us all alone to pursue our own definition of virtue. Tune into KDBI Channel 12 this Friday at 8:30 pm. Re-broadcast the following Monday at 1:30 pm.