Free Republic

A cross-section of opponents of health-care reform legislation making its way through Congress crowded into the Durango office of U.S. Rep. John Salazar... An orderly 50 or so protesters... represented at least three interest groups - Republican women, the Tea Party movement and the 9-12 Project started by conservative radio and television commentator Glenn Beck. The protest was part of a nationwide effort, which included thousands of conservatives rallying at the Capitol on Thursday against the Democrats' health-care overhaul plan, labeling it a government takeover of the nation's medical system. Health-care reform misses the target on all fronts... It's too...

State Sen. Josh Penry intends to drop out of the race for governor. Penry, 33, of Grand Junction, is facing former U.S. Rep. Scott McInnis and Evergreen businessman Dan Maes for the Republican nomination. But Penry has been meeting with people today to let them know he would leave the race. One source said an announcement was imminent and that Penry met with McInnis Monday morning to inform him of the decision. Penry explained he was leaving the race for "personal reasons," the source said. Penry collected about $400,000 in his first quarter of fundraising, coming in second to McInnis'...

Denver Catholic Archbishop Charles Chaput will address parishioners on health care reform — and more specifically abortion — in a letter to be read at Masses this weekend. In his column in the Denver Catholic Register on Wednesday, Chaput said President Barack Obama has failed to keep his promise to not provide public money for abortion in his health care plan. Chaput said he is asking Catholics to demand their senators and representatives change congressional proposals "to respect Catholic and pro-life concerns." As it stands, federal law prohibits using federal funds to pay for abortions, except to save a pregnant...

While roaming the grounds of the US Capitol yesterday, Kristinn Taylor obtained a list of possible democrat defectors of the now infamous “Healthcare” bill. Kristinn was asked to post this list of wobbly democrats on FreeRepublic in an effort to mobilize our forces and overwhelm these members with phone calls and e-mails asking them to vote NO on the socialization of our healthcare. We also learned that Nancy Pelosi had just scheduled the vote for tomorrow; Saturday, November 7, 2009 at 6:00 PM. For all those who were unable to answer the call to surround the Capitol yesterday, here is...

November 01, 2009 03:37 pm Sheriff detectives searching for a wanted man shot and killed a dog early Friday that belonged to a department volunteer. Bull, a 9-year-old black labrador mix, was shot in the eye by Detective Robbe Newsom, said the dog's owner, Rick Pendleton. Also known as Bo, the dog was mild-tempered and well liked in the neighborhood, Pendleton said, who is a volunteer member of the sheriff department's search and rescue team. Charlene Graham, chief of the department's law enforcement bureau, said Newsom and members of the civil fugitive unit went to Pendleton's home seeking information about...

"You really should go read the John Kane opinion as opposed to just reading Vince Carroll's column," Gov. Bill Ritter told a KOA audience Monday, because Judge Kane's "findings were that nobody in the DA's office did anything wrong." By all means, let's review Kane's remarks last year regarding the contacts between Ritter's 2006 campaign and the Denver district attorney's office following an attack ad released by Republican candidate Bob Beauprez. The episode is suddenly relevant because President Barack Obama nominated Ritter's deputy chief of staff and former campaign worker, Stephanie Villafuerte, as Colorado's next U.S. attorney. As Ritter suggests,...

An Army recruiter used a gay slur and an expletive during military-supervised testing at Durango High School last week, an incident that has raised parents' ire. DHS students who overheard the comment confronted the man, whose identity was not released, and notified school personnel. Juniors and seniors were required to attend a testing session Thursday that was overseen by recruiters from the U.S. Army Denver Recruiting Battalion, or to do an alternative project as part of a career day. More than 500 students took the test. During the military aptitude test, several students overheard the soldier use the expletive and...

<p>DENVER – The Colorado ski town of Breckenridge has voted overwhelmingly to legalize marijuana.</p> <p>Early returns Tuesday night showed the proposal winning with 72 percent of the vote.</p>

I just got back from the Tea Party Demonstration at Fort Collins, Colorado. The major topic of the event was opposition to the Health Care Bill which is under imminent consideration by the Senate. I estimated the peak crowd size at 900-1100 people. One of the organizers said she was very pleased with the size and duration of the turnout. The crowd was civilized and appreciative toward the speakers. There were plenty of home-made signs and flags among the participants and an organized sale of campaign buttons, T-shirts, and other paraphernalia did a modest business. “Joe the Plumber” spoke on...

Budget Committee Senator Says Freeze Was Mismanaged. Gov. Bill Ritter promised a hiring freeze last year to help bridge the budget gap, but a CALL7 investigation found that as many as 2,300 employees were hired during the “freeze.” “We have taken a number of steps to shore up our fiscal house: imposing a hiring freeze, stopping several new construction projects and halting non-essential spending requests,” Ritter said in his January 2009 State of the State speech. But a CALL7 investigation found that the number of state employees increased during Ritter’s hiring freeze, and Ritter’s top staff, who were tasked with...

Special Alert from the Traveling Press Room of the Tea Party Express II...CONTACT: Levi Russell - levi@FrontLineStrat.com or 509.979.6615 JOE THE PLUMBER TO FLY OUT FOR COLORADO "TEA PARTY EXPRESS" RALLIES ON TUESDAY, NOV. 3RDWe are pleased to announce that Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher - famously known to most Americans as "Joe The Plumber" - will be joining the Tea Party Express tomorrow as our convoy heads through Colorado and holds rallies in Ft. Collins and Denver.Here are the details of the Colorado tea party rallies that will take place on Tuesday, November 3rd:FT. COLLINS, CO - 2:00 PMWashington Park...

912 Denver News Blackout http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-26FPN2ov4 Can You Hear Us Now? Denver Rally http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aS4Z5aJ1zlQ

Castle Rock, Colorado—Despite the first major snowstorm of the season, and unrelenting efforts by malicious Darwinists to prevent people from registering, a huge crowd of around 1,000 people showed up Friday night to hear Dr. Stephen Meyer present the DNA evidence for intelligent design based on his new book Signature in the Cell. Meyer, Michael Behe, David Berlinski, and myself are in Colorado to speak at the Legacy of Darwin ID Conference sponsored by Shepherd Project Ministries. On Saturday, Michael Behe will present the evidence against modern Darwinism from his books Darwin’s Black Box and The Edge of Evolution;...

WALSENBURG, Colo. – Bernice and Jerry Angely like to show visitors the singed T-shirt a friend was wearing when their water well exploded and shot flames 30 feet high. The friend wasn't hurt. But that and an explosion at another home weeks earlier forced Colorado to suspend natural gas drilling around this southern plains town until someone could find out why dangerous levels of methane were getting into the groundwater.

Police in Boulder, Colorado, were reportedly successful last night in stopping yet another annual "nude pumpkin run" -- in which men and woman run down a pedestrian mall naked with carved out pumpkins over their heads. The local American Civil Liberties Union is outraged over what he claims is the denial of a constitutional right. Liberal Boulder residents and public officials in the ultraliberal city also are upset, according to a Wall Street Journal article on police efforts to stop the informal annual rite that the local police chief say has gotten totally out of hand. Last year, the event...

<p>Need some FReeper help! The Tea Party Express is coming to Wyoming & Colorado on Wednesday for a series of tea party rallies and we're working hard in the short time that remains to get the word out and build up the sizes of the crowds.</p>

The federal government reported Friday that Colorado created or saved 8,094 jobs through grants, loans and contracts funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Problem is, the figure is wrong, according to an analysis of recovery.gov data by The Denver Post. Although a Colorado Springs Head Start program reported it had created or preserved 269 jobs, the real number was three, according to an interview with a program manager. And although the largest private contract in the state funded with stimulus dollars was estimated at $166 million, the number was off by tens of millions, apparently because of a...

Driving around the Denver, Colorado metro area is a mess and giving people major headaches as they try to get around town. The biggest storm to hit Colorado in October in twelve years is leaving roads packed with snow and ice and while crews are being credited with doing a pretty good job of keeping roads cleared, the snow is falling faster than crews can clear it.Traffic for the last two days has been at a crawl and it likely won't get better until Friday when the storm moves out and sun starts to peek out again. Many areas in...

An early blast of winter walloped some western states with deep snow and slowly pushed into Nebraska and Kansas Thursday, bringing blizzard conditions to the eastern plains and causing treacherous roads, closed schools and hundreds of canceled flights. The fall storm spread 3 feet of snow and left much higher drifts across parts of northern Utah, Wyoming and Colorado, before its leading edge hit neighboring states just to the east. Wind-driven snow built to blizzard conditions over much of eastern Colorado. The weather service warned most area roads would be impassible Thursday night because of blowing snow and near-zero visibility....

Investigators Searching DIA Clerk's Bank Account For Missing Taxi Fees. Denver police are investigating the embezzlement of $170,000 from Denver International Airport taxi fees. A search warrant obtained by 7NEWS shows the scam went undetected for nearly two years. At least 16 cash collections made by DIA Ground Transportation Department workers between November 2007 and late June 2009 vanished en route from that agency to the airport finance department without making it to the bank. The probe was triggered when a random DIA internal audit found a $10,000 collection missing in June, sources told 7News. Police said they were alerted...

Patients Who Benefit From Marijuana Disturbed By 'Abuse'. An ear ache, $50, and eight minutes of a doctor's time was all that was needed to obtain a Medical Marijuana certificate from the state of Colorado. A CALL7 investigation found people in medical marijuana clinics and dispensaries coaching potential customers on how to obtain a certificate from the state with something as simple as an earache. the medical marijuana business in Colorado is booming because the fear of federal prosecution vanished with the election and recent statements of President Barack Obama, who said the federal government will not get involved in...

DENVER - After pounding Colorado's Front Range and metropolitan Denver for more than two days with snow, a powerful Winter Storm pushed into eastern Colorado, Nebraska and Kansas Thursday evening. The snow and wind created blizzard conditions and forced the closure of several major highways, including Interstate 70 which was shut down from Aurora to the Kansas state line. Also closed were I-76 from Brighton to Neb., US 34 from Brush to Neb., CO 71 from Neb. to Ordway, CO 61 from Sterling to Otis, and CO 59 between I-76 and Yuma.

This is a statement that was read over the public address system at the football game at Roane County High School, Kingston, Tenn., by school principal, Jody McLeod: "It has always been the custom at Roane County High School football games, to say a prayer and play the national anthem, to honor God and country. Due to a ruling by the Supreme Court, I am told that saying a prayer is a violation of federal law. "As I understand the law at this time, I can use this public facility to approve of sexual perversion and call it 'an alternate...

Blizzard continues across northeastern colorado Strong north to northwest winds and moderate to heavy snowfall will continue across the northeast plains of colorado tonight. At sunset the heaviest snow extended from northeastern Weld County across morgan county to the limon area. Further east the snow Intensity was increasing...and periods of heavy snow are expected In those areas as well during the night. Northwest winds at 20 to 35 mph with gusts to 45 mph and visibilities of 100 to 200 yards Were common. The center of this storm will move slowly eastward from far Southeastern colorado into western kansas by...

A 28-year-old man died early this morning in Pueblo while trying to steal electrical wiring from a high voltage electrical box... The man, Brian Repinski of Pueblo, was brought unconscious to Parkview Hospital suffering from high voltage burns. Duran said interviews were conducted with associates of Repinski. They said the electrocution occurred on Greenhorn Drive while Repinski and an accomplice were attempting to steal the wiring. Detectives are continuing their investigation to determine whether Repinski and his associates were involved in other recent thefts and burglaries.

Republican Sen. John McCain, along with four of his colleagues on the Hill, yesterday introduced a bipartisan post-9/11 Troops to Teachers Enhancement Act, which expands and modernizes the current Troops to Teachers (TTT) program with the goal of having more troops continue their service in the classroom.

We need to start blasting all his phones, emails , twitter account, facebooks, and writing to the newspapers. Even if you don't live in his state you need to still be active on them and tell them no business in Colorado if Bennet votes in favor of Obama's reckless Obamacare and cap n trade. Offices 1.Denver Metro Office 2300 15th St., Suite 450 Denver, Colorado 80202 Phone: (303) 455-7600 Toll Free: (866) 455-9866 Fax: (303) 455-8851 2.Four Corners Office 835 East 2nd Avenue, Suite 203 Durango, Colorado 81301 Phone: (970) 259-1710 Fax: (970) 259-9789 3.Pikes Peak Office 409 North Tejon...

Anyone who has had an eye on getting a new Tesla Roadster, but has been waiting for the sale price of the car to drop from its $109,900 price point to a more reasonably $70k-ish will have a really good day after hearing this news (assuming you live in Colorado). The state of Colorado is offering a special tax credit that is designed to allow purchasers of electric vehicles to save big on the purchase price.

DENVER (Reuters) – The mother of a Colorado boy thought to be aboard a homemade helium balloon has admitted to investigators the whole thing was a hoax, according to a court document made public on Friday. ... "The motive for the fabricated story was to make the Heene family more marketable for future media interest," the affidavit states. The document also says the Heenes, who had starred in the reality television show "Wife Swap," had devised the hoax about two weeks before and had instructed their three children to lie to authorities and the media.

LAGHMAN PROVINCE, Afghanistan, Oct. 23, 2009 – Army Sgt. Carlos Medina is relaxing in his room at Forward Operating Base Mehtar Lam here when his radio breaks the silence. Medina and his unit are needed to provide field artillery support. Soldiers fire an M-198 155 mm howitzer at Forward Operating Base Mehtar Lam in Lagham province, Afghanistan, Oct. 3, 2009. The artillerymen help support forward maneuvering elements. U.S Army photo by Spc. Derek L. Kuhn   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Medina leaps into action. “Fire mission!” he yells to the other artillerymen who live in the rooms adjacent...

President Barack Obama's nominee as Colorado's next U.S. attorney told the FBI two years ago that she never spoke to anyone in the Denver District Attorney's Office about an illegal immigrant who became a controversial figure in the 2006 gubernatorial race. FBI interview summaries describe Stephanie Villafuerte as saying she had "no conversations" with anyone at the DA's office about the illegal immigrant, Carlos Estrada-Medina. But the FBI apparently never asked Villafuerte, the former chief deputy DA who was then working for Bill Ritter's campaign, why she left a phone message for DA spokeswoman Lynn Kimbrough that Kimbrough noted was...

Combing through Colorado GOP Senate candidate Jane Norton’s campaign filings this week, Congressional Quarterly finds Rick Davis among the many notables on the impressive Norton donor list, a collection of interested parties that generated a cool half million dollars in 16 days. Who is Rick Davis? Grassroots Colorado Republicans not in the know already will be interested to learn he was an adviser to John McCain during last year’s failed presidential bid. Davis is yet another McCain connection for Norton, who has been taking heat from state conservatives as a doomed McCain-driven national party pick since even before she announced...

A stop livestock movement exercise is taking place on the Oklahoma/Kansas border on Oct. 22. The goal is to practice stopping animal movement across borders during times of contagious animal disease. Traffic will be screened at two border locations; one three miles north of Turpin on Highway 83 and the other at the intersection of Highways 160 and 183 near Sitka, Kansas.

... The medical marijuana review business is booming as states like Colorado and California have seen an explosion in the number of pot shops. ... A Denver alternative newspaper recently posted an ad for what some consider the sweetest job in journalism - a reviewer of the state's marijuana dispensaries and their products. ... The Denver paper, Westword, has already has gotten more than 120 applicants, many of them offering to do the reviews for free. When the newspaper settles on a permanent critic for its new "Mile Highs and Lows" column, industry watchers say, it will be the first...

SNIPPET: “DENVER — A Colorado man whose son is accused of plotting a terror attack in New York City is scheduled to go to trial in December on a charge of lying to investigators. A federal judge on Tuesday scheduled a 10-day trial for Mohammed Wali Zazi starting Dec. 7 in U.S. District Court in Denver.”

The first campaign finance report filed by former Colorado Lt. Gov. Jane Norton (R), who is running for the Senate in 2010, reads like a who’s who of GOP officeholders past and present, strategists and lobbyists. Prominent Republicans in Colorado and Washington, D.C., helped Norton raise $510,000 in less than one month for her campaign to defeat appointed Sen. Michael Bennet (D).

It's not every day the Federal Aviation Administration has to consider the flight of a silver UFO-looking helium balloon. "This is unusual," acknowledges Mike Fergus, spokesman for the FAA in Washington state, which opened an investigation into the two-hour balloon flight in FAA-monitored airspace. "But we investigate any air incident. The investigation is solely focusing on if we had any violations of our regulatory authority or regulations." Fergus says he is not at liberty to discuss specifics, nor can he guess as to when the probe will be complete. He says the FAA can only file civil charges if a...

Patriotic music belted from speakers Monday afternoon ... The Western Slope Conservative Alliance and other local conservative groups staged demonstrations at all four corners on city sidewalks to again voice opposition to nationalized health care reform. Alliance members have gathered at least six times since summer to stage rallies, the most recent protests near Grand Junction City Hall and the Federal Building. the group gathers at the intersection because it is near the Alpine Bank building offices of Rep. John Salazar, D-Colo., and Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo. Sen. Mark Udall, D-Colo., has an office around the corner at the Federal...

Colorado 5th District Congressman Doug Lamborn holds a Town Hall meeting at the Stargazers Theatre in Colorado Springs Stargazers Hands off my Healthcare Hatch Amendment Congressional Budget Office Obamacare Org Chart Survival Rate Lamborn's Healthcare Legislation 44% Borrowed Applause Colorado Springs PD Red and Green Red Coverage Liar, Bingo Colorado Springs PD On Camera Discourse - Q and A Question Response Question Listening Response and Applause All Quiet Doug Bruce

The Colorado parents accused of concocting a publicity stunt by pretending that their young son had climbed aboard a homemade helium balloon and was hurtling through the skies above Fort Collins, Colo., will voluntarily surrender to authorities as soon as charges are filed, which is expected to happen on Wednesday, the lawyer for the father said Monday morning. David Lane, a Colorado civil rights lawyer who is representing Richard Heene, said both Mr. Heene and his wife, Mayumi, would plead not guilty and would turn themselves in to avoid further public spectacle.

Click here to read El Marco's report on Denver's Operation Can You Hear Us Now ABC and NBC News in Denver were surrounded by Tea Party protesters as part of anti-media rallies that took place in dozens of American cities on Saturday. There was almost a complete media block out of this event nationwide. El Marco dissects ABC News' fraudulent coverage in his latest photo expose. Instead of focusing their camera on Tea Party protesters (above) ABC News interviewed only these interlopers (below). An amazing story of news media malfeasance and blatant liberal bias.

FORT COLLINS, Colorado — The story that a little boy had floated away in a giant helium balloon was a hoax concocted to land a reality television show, authorities said, and the boy's parents will likely face felony charges. The stunt two weeks in the planning was a marketing ploy by Richard and Mayumi Heene, who met in acting school in Hollywood and have appeared on the ABC reality show "Wife Swap," Larimer County Sheriff Jim Alderden said Sunday. The Heenes have reportedly been working on a reality TV deal in Los Angeles. Investigators are examining the possibility of other...

The smell of manure hangs over Greeley as it has for half a century. These days it's more than just a potent reminder of the region's agricultural roots and the hundreds of thousands of cattle raised on the city's outskirts. The stench smells like an opportunity. Investors are lining up to support a planned clean energy park that eventually will convert some of the methane gas released from the manure piles into power for a cheese factory and other businesses. JBS, which runs two of the largest feed yards and the local slaughterhouse, is testing a new technology that heats...

Colorado Authorities: 'Balloon Boy' Flight 'Was a Stunt' Larimer County Sheriff Jim Alderden announced at a press conference on Sunday that Colorado authorities have ruled the "balloon boy's" flight a hoax. "It has been determined that this is a hoax. We believe we have evidence at this point to indicate that this was a publicity stunt," Alderden told reporters. Authorities believe the alleged plot was hatched in an attempt by the Heene family "to better market themselves for a reality show at some point in the future," Alderden said. "They were lying." ... http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,568420,00.html

FORT COLLINS, Colo. – A sheriff says a Colorado couple's report that their 6-year-old son was in a balloon that was hurtling away from their home was a publicity stunt. Sheriff Jim Alderden says Richard and Mayumi Heene "put on a very good show for us, and we bought it." The sheriff says no charges have been filed yet, and the parents aren't under arrest. But he says he expects to recommend charges of conspiracy and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

<p>The infamously boy-less balloon caused even more trouble than we thought on Thursday -- because its landing also wreaked havoc on a valuable wheat crop desperately needed by a local family.</p> <p>TMZ spoke with Doug and Joanna Abbott who told us their 300-acre wheat crop was destroyed mostly by emergency vehicles racing across their field to chase the balloon -- which also caused its fair share of damage.</p>

Saw a posting on a streetsign on Colorado Blvd. near CU med center advertising a "Peace With Justice" rally. Didn't catch any details, can't find anything on the web.If anyone has details, please post, and let's organize a counterdemonstration (or "Welcome bin Laden Fan Club" Rally) against these idiotic peaceniks who are threatening our national security.Thanks, and Eagle's Up!

DENVER — Colorado authorities said they inadvertently released a sex offender from prison under a moneysaving early release initiative, prompting Republican lawmakers on Thursday to urge the state's Democratic governor to suspend the program. Gov. Bill Ritter, a former Denver district attorney, has said that no sex offenders, kidnappers or killers would be released under the program, which officials hope will save $19 million as the state deals with a $318 million budget shortfall this year.

FORT COLLINS, Colo. – A Colorado sheriff said he was pursuing criminal charges in the case of a 6-year-old boy who vanished into the rafters of his garage while the world thought he was zooming through the sky in a flying saucer-like helium balloon. The boy's parents, Richard and Mayumi Heene, met with Larimer County investigators for much of the afternoon, but Sheriff Jim Alderden didn't say who would be charged or what the charges would be. Alderden didn't call Thursday's hours-long drama a hoax, but he expressed disappointment that he couldn't level more serious charges in the incident, which...