Tonight at 10 pm mountain I broadcast my last late night edition of my 850 KOA radio show. Sorry to disappoint you, but no, I am not leaving Denver radio. But I will be getting some sleep. I’ll still be filling in for all your favs like Boyles, Rosen, Caplis and gang. Also I be hosting my own show on 630 KHOW Sunday evenings. I’ll tell you all about it tonight.

The important thing is that we stay in touch. My Facebook page is filled to the maximum 5000 friends, so PLEASE “like” my fan page by clicking here.

Also please follow me on Twitter by clicking here.

This December will be the tenth anniversary of the death of my daughter Parker.

I remember at the time wondering if there was even a glimmer of a chance that I could survive ten minutes, no less ten years into the future. Thanks to the kind hearts of more people than I could ever thank, I am still here.

Like so many people who didn’t have children, I thought I had a pretty good handle on the world. After becoming a parent I realized just how little I really knew; being Parker’s dad was humbling. I had no concept how little I understood of love before Parker came. I had such an odd concept of what was important before her. Parker was my only child at the time and the center of the universe. By all appearances she was thriving and perfect.

Just over two weeks before Parker’s first birthday we found she had a lemon-sized tumor in her head. The next day we found that it was cancer and it had spread to her spine. The next day, after a biopsy, we found that it was likely a vicious cancer for which there is no cure. During surgery they implanted a stint to relieve the painful swelling caused by the fluid building around the tumor.

I walked into the recovery room, and there she was. She looked so beautiful in spite of tubes going in and out of her head and arms, and a stifling tangle of wires attached all over her. She looked up at me with an expression that just screamed, “Daddy, why are you letting them do this to me? What have I done wrong?”

Two days later the pathology report confirmed her death sentence. Armed only with a morphine pump we took my little girl home to die. Less than a week before her first birthday she was gone.

I can’t explain, because there no words to explain, the helplessness and powerlessness of holding your only child as she suffers in pain and confusion knowing there is nothing, nothing you can do but watch and pray you could somehow trade places.

I knew this kind of thing doesn’t happen to me and mine; it happens to other people. Now I know it does happen, and it happens to families just like yours too. That’s one of the reasons YOU need to care about the Children’s Hospital. They did the very best they could for my little girl and treated her with the dignity and love she deserved. Parker had the very best doctors and nurses at her call.

I hate to tell you that if this could happen to my family, it could happen to yours. And if that should ever happen you will thank God that people had given to make Children’s Hospital the place it is.

A dear friend, Tracy Smith, every year takes part in a fund-raiser for Children’s – the Courage Classic bike ride. She does so in the name of my little girl Parker. I am asking you personally to make a pledge to her effort. Please do it to help keep Parker’s memory alive. Please do it to save the child like Parker in your life.

Donate here, http://www.couragetours.com/2011/tracy_smith

All my thanks,

Jon

As I hope you know, we have been working to bring to this Fall’s Colorado ballot a citizens’ amendment, the Right to Health Care Choice. Well, we just cleared a massive hurdle.  A federal court judge has placed an emergency injunction on a new state law that made it near impossible to get an initiative on the ballot.

In 2009 the state legislature, with heavy bipartisan support, passed a law outlawing paying petition gatherers by the signature they collect.  This may sound like a small change to the process, but as I have found out, it doubles or triples the cost of getting a citizens’ initiative on the ballot.  That’s not a problem if you are Tim Gill or Jared Polis.  But it is an insurmountable problem if you are a little free-market activist like me.  The oppressive law made it impossible for us to be able to petition our government.  And I remember some old document saying we have a right to do just that.  So off to court we went.  Again.

Side note: I ran into Governor Ritter last week at the Mizel Museum event at Wings over the Rockies.  We were chatting when someone walked up to us and the Guv tried to introduce me, and finally just said while gesturing to me, “this is, um, well we just call him the Plaintiff, since he sues us so much.”  Score one for the Governor.

Here’s how ridiculous this law was.  The legislature passed it because they believed paying by the signature caused “ramped fraud.”  However, during the trial the state couldn’t find even one itty-bitty single conviction of fraud in the process.  But here’s the best part – the legislature didn’t stop the practice of paying by the signature for themselves, only citizens!  The law still allowed politicians to pay per signature to get their name on primary ballots!  Only we citizens should pay double when petitioning.

Last Friday the ruling came down, and the worst part of the law has been enjoined.  We can now pay petition circulators by the signature, meaning we can now afford to petition the government.  Now we are off and running!

We still are counting on a large volunteer effort.  If you are interested in helping gather signatures contact Mike Krause at mike@i2i.org, or give us a ring at 303.279.6536 and ask for Mike.

Amazing though. Occasionally the court system works. Of course it was heard in the Federal Court, not the State Supreme Court. 

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

From our education policy analyst Ben DeGrow:

Our Education Policy Center recently co-sponsored an important discussion about a new strategy to promote choice and accountability in our public schools. Last Tuesday’s conference in downtown Denver (also sponsored by the University of Colorado at Denver’s School of Public Affairs, Donnell-Kay Foundation and Piton Foundation) explored how local school boards can adopt a hands-off, “portfolio management” strategy to offer a greater menu of education options to families in their communities. As one of the panelists, Center Director Pam Benigno explained how our School Choice for Kids website is empowering parents to demand more options. On the Schools for Tomorrow blog, our own Ben DeGrow shared some reasons why he thinks the “portfolio management” approach has promise not only in Denver but also in other Colorado school districts.

I can’t help but be impressed with every post I’ve read on the Colorado Spending Transparency (COST) blog run by our transparency Czar (just kidding), I mean Transparency Director Amy Oliver.  Following our investigative reporter Todd Shepherd’s report, Amy’s thoughts on Bill Ritter’s lack of disclosure transparency were right on the money.  She has also been taking the Greeley-Evans school district property tax hike (3A) to task – both on the COST blog and on her own personal blog. After BJ Nikkel successfully passed transparency legislation forcing the state to create and maintain a website that showed state spending in an easy, search-able format, they unfortunately came out with this poor excuse of a transparency website. Amy has written several times on the inadequacies of the TOPS site in providing spending reports, but this most recent assessment shows just how poor TOPS is.  Evidently, transparency still means general rather than specific, while conveniently leaving out any and all semblance of context.  No, I’m afraid that… “we spent $100″ does not constitute transparency in spending.

Also, don’t forget tonight’s episode of Independent Thinking, hosted by none of than the Mistress of Transparency herself – Amy Oliver.

(Amy, you’re choice is either Mistress or Czar.  “Director” is just too boring).

Why can’t the state be more transparent like Jefferson County?  While Colorado’s largest county actively pursues detailed financial transparency with its new website Transparent Jeffco, Governor Ritter and the state controller violate the spirit of the Colorado Taxpayer Transparency Act by providing taxpayers with confusing, aggregated numbers with no context. To discuss the two dramatically different transparency websites, State Representative BJ Nikkel and Jefferson County Commissioner Kevin McCasky join host Amy Oliver Cooke on Independent Thinking. Tune in tonight at 8:30 p.m. to KBDI Channel 12.  Repeated Monday at 1:30 p.m.

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

Thanks to the lovely Nancy Miller for taking these photos from our Real Canadian Health Care Fact Finding Trip. You can see the pics here, but I have to admit, this one is my favorite:

Also, I finally came across the footage of Fox News’ Dan Springer reporting on our trip:

I told you last week about the meet and greet KBDI channel 12 is hosting for me in downtown Golden.  Well, the time is upon us!  Tomorrow from 6pm to 9pm at the Golden Hotel, I will be live in the flesh, glad-handing, kissing babies, and signing autographs.  (8 x 10 glossies not included, please bring your own).  I hope you are as excited meeting me as I would be about meeting me.

But seriously, come on out; I’d love to meet you and hear what you have to say about the show. Besides, a $10 donation to KBDI gets you the chance to buy me a drink.  What a win-win!

Space is limited, so call Channel 12 at 303.991.5038 to reserve your spot.