Like an acrophobic man wearing cement shoes, Colorado’s bid for the second round of “Race to the Top” federal education money fell way short. Some, like Governor Ritter, attribute this second failure to “bias against the west.” Others believe it was the lack of union buy-in. Whether it was bias or lack of CEA support remains to be seen. But what we do know is that Colorado education officials were banking on that money, and for awhile, most everyone believed we were a shoe-in. Why? Well for one, the legislature passed SB 191 – great teachers and leaders – last session. Indeed, the passing of SB 191 was intended to be our winning lottery ticket! However, our “race to failure” this time around should once and for all teach us that counting on Powerball for money is almost always a suckers bet. (and if you believe otherwise, you’re probably that pathetic guy who goes to the casino to play Keno).

One guy I know for a fact does not play Powerball OR Keno (but will crush you in fantasy baseball) is our education policy analyst Ben DeGrow. Ben recently sat down for a discussion of our second losing bid for Race to the Top monies with State Board of Education member Randy DeHoff. Randy is like the Brett Favre of the State Board of Ed by the way – 12 years of service and still going strong. Anyway, the two of them sat down to talk about what they believe cost Colorado this time, and whether we’ll even bother applying again if there happens to be a third round of Race to the Top funding. Additionally, they discuss the impact of SB 191 and what might happen during its implementation and the Common Core Standards recently adopted by the State Board of Ed.

We hear the questions everyday from folks who want to help us collect signatures or who support what we’re doing: what exactly will this initiative do? How in the world can we stop the federal government from imposing Obama Care on us? How many signatures do you guys need? How can I help? Those are great questions. So Mike Krause and I made our way into the iVoices.org studio to answer those questions and address some other concerns that you may be having with the whole ballot initiative process. Truth be told, it is a process – a long and particularly strenuous one that we need lots of help to finish successfully. Please take a few minutes to listen to this important podcast, and please, if you have any questions at all concerning any aspect of what we’re trying to do, feel free to give us a ring at 303.279.6536 or email Operations Director Mike Krause at mike@i2i.org. Thanks!

Attorney General John Suthers is a very busy man, so we appreciate his taking time out to do a podcast with our Education Policy Center. Ben DeGrow was the lucky one who delivered an informative podcast with the AG about the ongoing Lobato v. State K-12 education funding case.

In this case, the court will determine whether Colorado’s K-12 education funding is spread so thin that schools are not funded adequately – or as the official language goes – education funding is not “thorough and uniform” per the requirement of our state constitution. As Colorado’s attorney, AG Suthers will defend the state in this case against an array of school districts who have signed on as plaintiffs. In the podcast, the AG explains that he has amassed probably the largest amount of school budget data the world has ever known. By looking at how school districts spend money, the state can show that maybe the problem isn’t the funding, but rather, where school districts spend the money they have.

There are a couple of interesting points to make regarding this case. First, a result is not expected for at least a year, maybe two. Secondly, taxpayers are not only funding the defense (as we do anytime the state is sued), but some of us are funding the plaintiffs as well! 18 school districts are suing the state, therefore, 18 school districts’ taxpayers happen to be funding BOTH the prosecution AND the defense! Ouch. And with the case set to go over a year, that’s a whole lot of money going to both sides. It’s almost like we’re suing ourselves! Oh wait, we kind of are. That’s sad…

Parents beware! April 22 is Earth Day and your kiddies may be subjected to frightening horror stories about the dangers of global warming. Our friends from the Independent Women’s Forum have launched their latest campaign called Balanced Education for Everyone. Listen to our new iVoices podcast as Pam Benigno discusses with IFW’s Carrie Lukas how parents should challenge their local public schools to provide a balanced education on global warming.

Ever wonder what the Colorado State Board of Education does?  I was curious myself, so I tuned in to this 2 part iVoices.org podcast between Fiscal Policy Center Director Penn Pfiffner and former legislator and now current State Board of Education Chairman Bob Schaffer.

In this first installment, Bob gives listeners news from board – what’s going on, what they’re planning, and information regarding the “Race to the Top” funds.

In this second installment, Bob goes over what the board does, its functions, its impact, and how it shapes policy for all of Colorado’s schools.

We’ve got an extra special iVoices.org podcast today for you.  Colorado Attorney General John Suthers joins our Research Director Dave Kopel to discuss the lawsuit he and 12 others State Attorneys General have jointly filed, that claims that the health care bill recently signed by President Obama  is unconstitutional via a violation of the 10th Amendment.  States’ rights issues are hot right now and this lawsuit is one of many attacks on the Federal government’s encroachment on state sovereignty.  (You might remember Montana’s legislative finger to the Federal government last year).   AG Suthers makes a good point: if Obama Care is allowed to ride, it will be a dangerous precedent – one that we can never return from.  As the AG puts it, if the Feds can punish you for NOT engaging in commerce, is there any limit to their power?  To get the whole scoop, listen to the podcast on iVoices.org.

In Senior Fellow Penn Pfiffner’s last podcast with Constitutional Law professor Rob Natelson, they came to the conclusion that Obama Care, with all its federal regulations and mandates, is absolutely unconstitutional.  Evidently, the legendary George Will agrees.  In “That Rock in the Health Care Road? It’s Called the Constitution,” George says,

Unless the commerce clause is infinitely elastic — in which case, Congress can do anything — it does not authorize Congress to forbid the inactivity of not making a commercial transaction, of not purchasing a product (health insurance) from a private provider.

Senator Orrin Hatch notes that if Congress can force citizens to buy products that will help the economy, then the Keynesian stimulus disaster “Cash for Clunkers” was not needed. Congress could have simply forced people to buy cars with the help of subsidies.

Show your support for state’s rights and come on out to our Free Our Health Care Rally next Tuesday!  After all, George Will would.

Our very own gun-toting, Second Amendment junky, and legal scholar Dave Kopel recently published a fantastic book (for you crazy people who read) called Aiming for Liberty: The Past, Present, and Future of Freedom and Self-Defense. Here’s a quick synopsis:

David Kopel’s book covers topics ranging from the origins of the Washington, DC gun ban to the Heller decision. He discusses the genesis of modern American gun control, the KKK, the true anti-gun agenda and the deceptions and errors used to promote anti-gun laws. He covers the right to self defense from Judeo Christiran perspectives. Other chapters explore United Nations and International gun control attempts and failures, law enforcement abuses and solutions, the culture of the right to keep and bear arms and the gun control movement. He concludes his book with a chapter on several prominent American gun owners from Thomas Jefferson to Eleanor Roosevelt.

If you’d like to learn more, listen to this podcast and/or watch this episode of Independent Thinking.

To celebrate, Dave is holding a meet and greet book signing at the Highlands Ranch Tattered Cover bookstore this Friday, January 15th at 7:30pm.

RSVP online here or call Mary @ 303.279.6536.

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:

Wow.  I’m still in awe.  I just finished listening to this epic iVoices.org podcast with Dave Kopel interviewing none other than Alan Gura himself!! Or as Dave aptly refers to Mr. Gura, “the Luke Skywalker of the Second Amendment.” Alan Gura is the man behind the huge DC v. Heller Supreme Court gun rights victory. Because of his previous victory, Mr. Gura has taken on the new McDonald v. Chicago Supreme Court case. This new Second Amendment case will decide whether the Second Amendment is enforceable at the state and local level via the 14th Amendment. Now that may seem like a lot of legalese and Constitutional law jargon, but I promise that if you listen to a few of these previous iVoices.org podcasts before jumping into the newest one featuring Alan Gura, you’ll be fine. A special thanks goes out to Mr. Skywalker Gura for taking time of his day to speak with us.