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Colorado News

PEAK: How taxpayers got royally screwed, and robbed, in Polis’s special session

(Colorado Peak Politics)

The real scandal of Gov. Polis’s special session is that Democrat lawmakers brazenly ignored the will of the voters robbing TABOR refunds anyway in an income redistribution scheme that would make Karl Marx proud.

The best part was when a Republicans called them out on it, and this Bozo admitted it.

Grab some popcorn and watch:

Everyone in #copolitics seems to think the story of the day was Rep. Epps’ anti-Israel stunt.

I think the *REAL STORY* is what she said right before that!

👀WATCH THIS & tell me why YOU🫵think #coleg Democrat leadership cut her off.

Maybe the disruption was welcomed…🤔

⬇️⬇️ https://t.co/xvkFzwwHeJ pic.twitter.com/nktd77QcHe

— Ben Murrey (@benamurrey) November 21, 2023

In the words of that famous 20th Century philosopher Homer Simpson, “It’s funny because it’s true.”

As an added bonus, we’re getting a tax hike.

Coloradans will still see a 30% property tax increase next year. That’s nothing to be proud of. #copolitics #coleg https://t.co/z5pckAb31J

— Michael Fields (@MichaelCLFields) November 21, 2023

Welcome to one-party socialist rule. Hope you brought your checkbook.

 » Read More

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Colorado News

PAGE TWO: Armstrong: Why Colorado needs approval voting

(Complete Colorado Page Two)

Plurality voting, our usual system, means selecting government officials by who gets the most votes, where voters can choose only one candidate, regardless of how many candidates appear on the ballot. Here is a simple illustration showing why plurality voting is stupid.

Let’s say Jesus, Gandhi, and Hitler are on the ballot, and our polity has only 99 people. In our polity, 34 people are morally corrupt, so they vote for Hitler. While 65 people are morally virtuous, and so would much rather have either Jesus or Gandhi elected than Hitler, they are nearly evenly divided on which of those candidates to support. So Jesus gets 33 votes, Gandhi gets 32 votes, and Hitler wins with 34 votes.

Unless you are insane, you will immediately see that that’s a bad outcome. Yet that is the voting system in use almost everywhere throughout the United States, the one that yields potentially insane outcomes.

Now rerun the election with approval voting, meaning that voters get to vote for as many candidates as they want. Now Hitler loses badly with only 34 votes, while Jesus wins handily with upwards of 65 votes, as most people who vote for Gandhi also vote for Jesus. (Gandhi might win depending on how many crossover votes there are.) In this scenario, a seemingly slight difference in the voting rules means either that Hitler barely wins or that Jesus wins in a landslide.

The least worst

Ah,

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Colorado News

PEAK: Anti-Israel radical rants and disrupts legislative session, which saw little tax relief

(Colorado Peak Politics)

Following a bitterly long hiatus, bipartisanship returned to the statehouse as Democrats stood with Republicans against Rep. Elisabeth Epps who was behaving badly against a Jewish member and disrupting the special session with her pro Palestine friends.

If only Democrats had stood with the GOP on their tax relief plan, but alas, Coloradans got screwed during the four-day session.

To be clear, there was no property tax cut, and most folks will see a property tax increase. The inflation caused by Bidenomics just won’t be as dramatic as expected, but only for one year.

Also, no tax relief was passed for commercial property owners. Instead, government will take a huge bite of new taxes from them, plus they’re taking more of regular folks’ tax dollars to give to some renters who might be affected by government’s never-ending greed.

It turns out when Gov. Polis said the special session was to deal with voters’ defeat of Prop HH, what he meant was for the legislature to find another way to redistribute our tax dollars instead of refunding money earned back to the earners.

It was all so tawdry, and Coloradans of all ideological stripes will be poorer for it.

The political grandstanding by Epps along with some Palestinian protestors who disrupted the session Sunday and Monday turned out to be just as annoying to her fellow Democrats.

That was after Dems allowed Epps to go on a 45-minute rant demanding the state force poor people who rely on government food subsidies to boycott dates grown in the West Bank and hummus produced by an Israel company.

 » Read More

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Colorado News

PEAK: Griswold feeling cute, might take Trump off the Colorado ballot if she gets her way

(Colorado Peak Politics)

Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold is feeling cute, might take Donald Trump off the GOP primary ballot if Democrats can find a court to do their bidding and overturn their failed attempt to kick the Republican out of the election.

Just kidding, she looks absolutely terrified.

The Court ruled that Trump engaged in insurrection. His attacks on our democracy continue today. The American people will have to protect democracy at the ballot box in 2024. pic.twitter.com/gq49Yg3Jat

— Jena Griswold (@JenaGriswold) November 19, 2023

Colorado District Judge Sarah B. Wallace ruled late Friday that Trump engaged in insurrection on Jan. 6 when protestors got out of hand, and as the newly released video footage now confirms, wandered aimlessly throughout the Capitol.

And yet, the case brought by Beltway progressives to kick Trump off the ballot went down in flames because the 14th Amendment based on Civil War insurrectionism didn’t apply.

As secretary of state, Griswold is supposed to be the torchbearer of clean and honest elections, yet she’s a ridiculously partisan hack who wants to make her bones on Donald Trump — like so many other partisan hacks.

“The idea that any official who would engage in insurrection would be barred from taking office except the presidency is incredibly surprising,” said Griswold. “That basically means that the presidency is a ‘get out of jail free’ card for insurrection.”

“As someone who cares deeply about the state of our democracy,

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Colorado News

PAGE TWO: Democrat Elisabeth Epps goes on anti-Israel tirade in Colorado House chamber debate

(Complete Colorado Page Two)

DENVER — A special legislative session bill introduced on Sunday that was intended to increase Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards benefits for school children over the summer, turned into a bizarre, anti-Semitic political speech by one Democrat representative and a showdown between House leadership and one of their own.

After Democrats decided late Sunday night to limit debate on Senate Bill 23B-002 to just one hour total, they allowed Rep. Elisabeth Epps, D-Denver to spend 45 minutes of that time yelling at her colleagues and criticizing Israel for “ethnic cleansing” in a political speech that was more about supporting Palestinians in Gaza, and less about Colorado issues.

Epps Initially proposed one amendment to that bill that never made it to the floor. After it was introduced, acting speaker Majority Co-Whip Anderew Boesenecker called for a recess and had a side conversation with Democrat leaders. When they reconvened, there was no mention of that amendment, but instead, Epps introduced a second amendment that she spoke to for the remainder of the debate clock, effectively killing any Republican debate on the actual measure.

“It is deeply offensive that when we can make a decision that much of the world has made to not further fund and underwrite the ethnic cleansing that is happening on our watch,” Epps said to start her speech, “… that we are not doing so. That further exacerbates the demonstrable objective harm being done to the children in the occupied territories.”

Epps’ amendment would have prevented the use of EBT for purchases of “food products that originate in occupied territories,” which Epps said included the West Bank,

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Colorado News

PAGE TWO: Gaines: Regular Coloradans getting shut out of legislative process

(Complete Colorado Page Two)

One of the many things that makes Colorado unique (and a wonderful place to live) are all the opportunities our state Constitution affords for people to be directly involved in the making of laws.  If you have some extra time, and a thirst for some light reading, go look up the Colorado Constitution, Article V, Section 1, and note how much text is given over to the rights of the people in making laws vs. that of legislators.

As part of running my own substack newsletter, I frequently encourage people to get involved with their government, the legislative process especially.  I’m not going to hide the fact that I’m conservative (though registered as unaffiliated after switching over from Libertarian), and want more conservative voices speaking up in blue Colorado, but I do sincerely wish everyone of every political bent to get involved.  The more voices we have in this state, the better in my view.

Unfortunately, I am afraid that we, the ordinary people of this state, are losing our right to be involved.  We’re not losing it by any overt act per se, but rather we are losing it effectively by scheduling, something readily apparent since the passage of the legislation earlier this year that enabled Proposition HH and the current special legislative session.

I have always been a believer in practicing what you preach, and thus I do try my best to be politically involved.  I write emails and I speak up at committee hearings. 

 » Read More

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Colorado News

PEAK: Democrat lawmaker replaces his U.S. flag with Palestinian flag in special Colo session

(Colorado Peak Politics)

Instead of cutting property taxes as allegedly tasked by Gov. Polis, Democrat lawmakers spent an additional $213 million during the first days of the special legislative session.

When they weren’t redistributing your income, Democrats welcomed an insurrectionary horde of radical socialists to disrupt the session until police finally removed the protestors from the gallery.

Protestors demanded Colorado lawmakers stop Israel from defending itself against murder, mayhem and rocket attacks by Palestinian-led Hamas through a cease fire that would ultimately allow Hamas terrorists to finish killing all Jews from the river to the sea.

It sounds rather harsh without the sing-song chanting of passionate yet ignorant young socialists behaving like anti-semites who don’t have a clue what they are saying.

Disgusting pro-Hamas activists are disrupting the #coleg Special Session.

They are shouting there is no “Jewish State,” yelling at lawmakers, & demanding a ceasefire while screaming they will “be back” as they are removed.

What does @McCluskieforCO & @COHouseDem do? They invite… pic.twitter.com/NK8uBuLWIl

— Colorado Republican Party (@cologop) November 18, 2023

Newly installed Democrat state Rep. Tim Hernandez of Denver, who rushed to celebrate the so-called Hamas martyrs on the day of their attack torturing and killing 1,200 Jews, welcomed the insurrectionists to disrupt the legislature’s work.

“Standing in strong solidarity with Coloradans who bravely stood up and disrupted our job this morning calling for a Ceasefire in Gaza.

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Categories
Sports

Colorado’s Kavosiey Smoke Clarifies Comments Calling Deion Sanders’ Team ‘Selfish’

(Bleacher Report)

TEMPE, AZ - OCTOBER 07: Arizona State Sun Devils defensive back Ed Woods (10) tackles Colorado Buffaloes running back Kavosiey Smoke (8) during a football game between the Colorado Buffalos and the Arizona State Sun Devils on October 7th, 2023, at Mountain America Stadium, AZ. (Photo by Zac BonDurant/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Zac BonDurant/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Colorado Buffaloes running back Kavosiey Smoke has clarified his comments regarding his team’s “selfish ball.”

Smoke claimed on X, formerly known as Twitter, that his team would be undefeated if they hadn’t played “selfish ball” following the team’s 56-14 loss to Washington State Friday night.

After the post made the rounds, Smoke addressed the coverage of his comments on X.

“Y’all trying to make something bigger than what it is,” Smoke wrote. “Be forgetting this y’all job.”

Kavosiey Smoke @_KS20_

yall trying to make something bigger than what it is😒be forgetting this yall job https://t.co/S2rb8J4sgd

Smoke’s comments come after the Buffaloes dropped their fifth consecutive game and seventh overall this season. While Colorado’s 4-7 record is still an improvement from its 1-11 2022 record, the hype around the team after hiring Deion Sanders suggested the Buffaloes were poised for a bigger leap.

The Buffaloes are last in the Pac-12 at 1-7, and a final matchup against No. 16 Utah makes a second conference victory seem even more unlikely. While the overall improvement should be looked at positively for the program from a macro standpoint, the high-end talent on the roster figured to produce a bowl-eligible record.

Smoke has seen limited action in 2023, with season totals of minus-two yards on two carries, but has amassed 1,581 yards and 13

This article was published at Bleacher Report. Read it in its entirety here. Read More

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Colorado News National Headlines

Colorado Judge Rules Trump Must Appear on Ballot

(Breitbart)

A Colorado district court judge ruled Friday that Donald Trump must be placed on the ballot in the 2024 presidential contest.

Judge Sarah Wallace, appointed in 2022 by Democrat Gov. Jared Polis, ruled that Trump did engage in insurrection on January 6, 2021, but was not an officer of the United States as defined by the Fourteenth Amendment.

The lawsuit cited the Fourteenth Amendment’s “,” which bans those who “engaged in insurrection” from holding federal office, as justification for booting Trump from the ballot.

Trump’s attorneys had claimed he never “engaged in insurrection” and that his questioning of the 2020 election results is political speech protected by the First Amendment.

“Trump’s comments did not come close to ‘incitement,’ let alone ‘engagement’ in an insurrection,” they wrote.

Wallace disagreed.

Yet she looked more favorably upon Trump’s team’s argument that the amendment does not apply to the office of the president. The text of the amendment specifies “Senator or Representative in Congress” and “elector of President and Vice President” but not “President.”

Trump has not been convicted of insurrection and was acquitted by the U.S. Senate of charges of engaging in insurrection and continues to deny wrongdoing.

Wallace previously denied a motion by Trump’s legal team that she step aside due to her past donation to a liberal group working to keep Trump off the ballot — the very thing her ruling Friday accomplished — along with donations to many Democrat candidates for office. She had also previously denied a motion by Trump and the Colorado GOP to throw the case out.

Trump continues to face legal challenges in numerous states across the country, but has had a string of favorable rulings.

A federal court in New Hampshire recently dismissed a similar case, ruling that the Fourteenth Amendment claim is a “nonjusticiable political question.” A Minnesota state court recently dismissed a lawsuit aiming to keep Trump off that state’s primary ballot. And a Michigan Court of Claims judge ruled that the Secretary of State must list Trump on the ballot as well.

An appeal is likely. The Colorado case, or another similar case in another state, could likely land before the Supreme Court, which has never before ruled on the Civil War-era amendment.

Update

Steven Cheung, Trump spokesperson, responded with the Trump Campaign St

This article was published at Breitbart News. Read it in its entirety here. Read More

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Colorado News National Headlines

Colorado Judge Rules Trump Can Stay on Primary Ballot, Dismissing 14th Amendment Challenge

(National Review) Similar cases brought against Trump’s ballot eligibility have been dismissed in Michigan, Minnesota, and New Hampshire…
This article was published at National Review. Read it in its entirety here. Read More