Bubble, Bubble, Froth or Trouble?
This is the time of year traditionally reserved for contemplating bubbles, preferably those rising from the bottom of a glass of champagne. Early media predictions of a millennial champagne shortage failed to pan out and the champagne market, in yet another miracle of commerce, seems set to provide tiny bubbles to all who want and are willing to pay for them.
Good Reason to Celebrate Christmas
In a world sorely in need of it, the teachings of Jesus Christ, and the religion he founded, have been singularly important forces for good. With “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another even I have loved you” (John 13:35), Jesus single-handedly created a new moral ethic. No longer was a persons worth dependent on his “social, biological, psychological, physiological, intellectual, or educational differences and levels.”[1] Because each individual was created in the image of God, each individual had value, regardless of his circumstances.
Propagandizing in Favor of Government Health Care
Opinion Editorial December 7, 1999 By Linda Gorman For a classic example of how advocacy journalism and advocacy research combine to produce pure propaganda, see “Insured face less risk” in the November 29 Colorado Daily. Staff Writer Terje Langeland wrote about a study done by CU-Boulder professor Richard Rogers. It concluded that an adult under […]
Bathing Students in Bathos
It has been an embarrassing fall for government schools in Colorado. Results from the state standards tests show that they continue to be unable to teach large numbers of children to read and write. They also seem to have a continuing problem making sensible judgements. In November, Sonya Golden, a 17-year-old honor student in Colorado Springs, was suspended when a random search found a pocket knife in the first-aid kit of her car.[1]
Riot Fees and Identity Politics: Making the Innocent Pay
University of Colorado Regent Jim Martin wants to make all CU students pay a riot fee because riots by college age people have destroyed property in Boulder. He apparently believes that when damage is done, those in power have an obligation to see that someone pays and he isn’t overly picky about who that might be. Apparently well schooled in the post-modern collectivist philosophy of “social justice,” Mr. Martin sees nothing wrong with redistributing money from innocent members of one group to those who may have suffered no losses in another.
Is Early Intervention Safe?
The hubris of the “mental health community” was prominently displayed following the Ft. Worth shootings when Joe Lovelace, past president of the Texas affiliate of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, gave an advance view of its agenda. “When,” he asked, “will society recognize its better to intervene early than to wait and play the odds the person is going to act in a way tragic enough that societys going to respond?”[1]
Are College Grads Paid More for Knowing Less?
Critics of higher education claim that todays college graduates know far less than those of forty years ago. At the same time, students of U.S. labor markets claim that a college degree is worth more than ever. Have American institutions of higher education discovered a modern philosophers stone? Can students study less, party more, and watch their future wages turn to gold?
Abortion Distortion
After 20 years of automatically funding Planned Parenthood, the Colorado health department finally put the contract for rural women’s health services out to bid. In an even more radical step, Jane Norton, the Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, announced that obeying the law would be a requirement for prospective bidders. Article 5, Section 50 of the Colorado Constitution forbids using public funds to “pay or otherwise reimburse” any entity “either directly or indirectly” for the performing an induced abortion. Money is fungible and Planned Parenthood does abortions. It cannot bid.
Junk Politics
In the June 11 Denver Rocky Mountain News [LG1], Ken Gordon, Colorados House minority leader, called for a special session of the Colorado General Assembly to discuss youth violence. Despite a 1993 special legislative session that banned juvenile possession of handguns, Mr. Gordon fears children may die if we fail to limit youth access to guns. He wants more reasonable restrictions. Even though these restrictions are the same measures that populate the laundry lists of laws proposed groups dedicated to disarming private citizens, Mr. Gordon still claims to support the constitutional right to bear arms.
Mandatory Bicycle Helmets
Summary: House Bill 1103 bill assumes that parents do not sufficiently protect their children against the risk of cycling head injuries. It would replace parental decisions about appropriate risk with a government rule that would fine the parents of children who do not wear bicycle helmets when cycling.
What the Bill Does: Parents of anyone under 16 years of age who is operating or riding a bicycle on a public roadway, bicycle lane, or bicycle path and who is not wearing an approved bicycle helmet as the helmet was designed to be worn would be at fault. They will be cited for a class B traffic infraction with a minimum of a $15 fine.
Academic Frauds
Efforts to stoke public fears that the electromagnetic fields emitted by power lines, home wiring, and household appliances can cause illness have been a growth industry for some time. Fringe environmentalists applaud any finding likely to induce anti-technology hysteria and trial lawyers salivate over the prospect of damage settlements wrenched from the deep industrial pockets. Research money continues to flow despite an existing body of evidence overwhelmingly suggesting that there is no cause for concern.
Creating a Colorado Health Care Task Force
Synopsis: This bill allows a state task force to receive private funding. It is a trojan horse to allow the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to push for socialized medicine and various nanny state schemes. The bill is antithetical to the principle that government activities should be paid for (and therefore controlled by) the legislature.
What the Bill Does: This bill creates the Colorado Health Care Task Force consisting of 9 members of the general assembly, 5 from the House of Representatives, and 4 from the Senate. The Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate make the appointments. Members may serve for 2 consecutive terms of 1 year. The task force must meet at least 4 times per year.
