Free Republic

Already pegged by The Hill as one of the most vulnerable U.S. Senators facing re-election in 2016, and the only Democrat on that list now that Sen. Harry Reid has decided to retire, Michael Bennet is still scrambling to consolidate his base. With his polling numbers hovering just above the 50% mark among Democrats and Democrat activists actively protesting his fundraisers, we cannot blame him one bit. Bennet’s latest pander was an amendment he introduced last week that effectively declared climate change to be a national security issue. While this might mollify the environmental extremists who comprise a meaningful spot...

This afternoon, Fact Check.org produced a fact-check that ostensibly criticizes U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe (R-OK) for his contention that there has never been an instance of ground water contamination caused by hydraulic fracturing. Of course, this piece isn’t really about Inhofe at all; but before we get into that, we can’t help but wonder why they are fact-checking Inhofe and not former EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson … or Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz … or Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell — all of whom have said exactly the same thing. Rather than a “fact-check,” it reads more like an advocacy...

Seven Southwestern states will soon be infiltrated by 1,200 military special ops personnel as part of a controversial domestic military training in which some of the elite soldiers will operate undetected among civilians. Operation Jade Helm begins in July and will last for eight weeks. Soldiers will operate in and around towns in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California, Nevada, Utah and Colorado where some of them wil drop from planes while carrying weapons loaded with blanks in what military officials have dubbed Realistic Military Training. But with residents of the entire states of Texas and Utah dubbed 'hostile' for the...

The parents of a woman killed during the Aurora movie theater shooting lost their bid Friday to hold ammunition sellers liable for the attack. Sandy and Lonnie Phillips, whose daughter, Jessica Ghawi, was one of 12 people killed in the July 2012 attack, had sued four online retailers that provided bullets, gun magazines and body armor alleged to have been used in the shooting. They accused the retailers of selling the items without concern about the mental fitness of the buyer or the items’ intended use. The retailers “established and operated businesses which attracted — and catered to — dangerous...

As LifeNews has reported, the Colorado woman who cut out a 7-month-old unborn baby from a mother’s abdomen, resulting in the death of the infant, will not be charged with murder. That’s because the state lacks an unborn victims law to hold criminals accountable when they kill or injure unborn children in such criminal attacks.However, new information reveals the prosecutor in the case is an abortion advocate who has the endorsement of prominent pro-abortion groups in a previous campaign for state Attorney General and who endorsed legislation to not regard unborn children as victims of such crimes, which would allow...

WASHINGTON — U.S. Army Special Operations Command is pushing back against alarmist claims that an upcoming U.S. military exercise is a preparation for imposing martial law or subduing right-leaning groups and individuals. Conspiracy theories about the exercise, known as JADE HELM 15, appeared online this week. Some commentators railing against the event referred to an online slide show allegedly created by USASOC, which outlined a special operations exercise slated to take place across multiple states, outside the confines of U.S. military bases. In the slide show, a map of the southwest region of the United States labels Texas and other...

The head of the FDIC faced tough grilling today from members of a House Financial Services subcommittee including U.S. Rep. Scott Tipton on a rogue policy that essentially directed banks not to deal with businesses the Obama administration found objectionable. Dubbed “Operation Choke Point,” the Justice Department essentially directed the nation’s top financial regulator to intimidate banks into cutting off accounts or doing any business at all with a list of 30 different types small business owners. The list included gun shops, ammunition dealers ... Tipton also got the old DC song and dance when he asked if the federal...

There's a shakeup happening at the Rocky Ford Police Department. The City Manager has reassigned Chief Frank Gallegos and promoted a captain to take on the chief's role. We received a handful of tips from our viewers in Rocky Ford who were too afraid to talk on camera, saying they still don't trust the police force. It has been a tough six months for the department as former Officer James Ashby heads to trial for second-degree murder in the death of Jack Jacquez. As that case moves forward, we uncovered Chief Frank Gallegos is now a commander. His position has...

After last election cycle, when Colorado House Republicans received 189,000 more votes than House Democrats, we began to highlight how grossly gerrymandered the statehouse has become. Now, even the liberals at the Daily Kos blog are acknowledging that the Colorado House is the Democrats’ “best chamber” in the entire nation. It favors Democrats even more than California’s general assembly. The reapportionment process is obviously deeply flawed ... Democrat obstructionists in the House should be careful. While they may think they’re the party of the people, they’re not actually representing the majority of people who voted in the last election. And...

Some 5.4 million homes, or 10.4 percent of all homes with a mortgage, were still in a negative equity position, or "underwater," in the fourth quarter of 2014, according to CoreLogic, as their owners owe more on the mortgage than the home is currently worth. This is down considerably —18.9 percent, from a year ago—but it still keeps these borrowers from putting their homes on the market, because they would lose money. .. Additionally, of the 49.9 million U.S. homes with a mortgage, approximately 10 million (20 percent) have less than 20 percent equity, and 1.4 million have less than...

predation, not human activity, has reduced bird’s numbers. A coalition of rural Western counties and business interests is contesting the science being used to decide whether to list the Greater sage-grouse as endangered or threatened, accusing the Obama administration of relying on “selective, false and biased” research. Denver attorney Kent Holsinger filed three Data Quality Act challenges Wednesday with the Department of the Interior on behalf of the coalition, which includes the Western Energy Alliance, ranchers, mining and drilling companies and 19 counties in Colorado, Montana, Nevada and Utah. “We’ve documented real issues with transparency and scientific integrity ... The...

They were the most notorious yet least-seen artifacts from one of the worst school shootings in American history -- roughly four hours of home videos made by two teenage killers-to-be, shot in the last weeks of their lives and offering glimpses into the methods and motives behind the 1999 attack on Columbine High School that killed thirteen people and seriously injured two dozen more. The so-called "basement tapes" of Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold have been the subject of intense litigation and media speculation, morbid curiosity and outrage, half-baked psychoanalysis and earnest requests from violence-prevention researchers to make them available...

EIA's most recent Drilling Productivity Report (DPR) indicates a change in the crude oil production growth patterns in three key oil producing regions: the Eagle Ford, Niobrara, and Bakken. The DPR estimates, which were issued on March 9 and cover the months of March and April, include the first projected declines in crude oil production in these regions since publication of the DPR began in October 2013. However, with production gains continuing in other regions, particularly the Permian, overall crude oil production in regions tracked by the DPR rose slightly in March to 5.6 million barrels per day. Total production...

A Denver-bound United Airlines flight had to turn back and return to Dulles International Airport after an unruly passenger allegedly charged toward the cockpit. According to multiple reports, the passenger was subdued by several passengers near first class before he made it to the cockpit, the Post reports. A Reddit user whose father was on the plane posted pictures and a video of the incident and says that the passenger in question "was screaming and sprinting towards the cockpit" before he was tackled and subdued by "several large passengers." A government official with "direct knowledge of the incident" told CNN...

Just minutes ago. The Colorado State GOP has denied establishment Chairman Ryan Call his reelection. The liberty backed candidate Steve House has been elected as chairman. Ryan Call has been a monkey for Karl Rove and the RNC in the passed two elections. Ryan played backhanded tactics to deny the liberty vote at almost every stop he could. Earlier this month, he disqualified the election results of a specific county and decided to redo the county election himself. All so he could get a few more votes for his reelection. Steve House was backed by the liberty crowd. He is...

Colorado's National Guard boss, Maj. Gen. H. Michael Edwards, describes the relationship between state Guard leaders and Army brass as broken, saying the two entities are giving each other the silent treatment over budget battles. "The relationship is not good and it is sad," said Edwards, an Air Force officer who reports to Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper rather than the Pentagon. Tensions are high over Army proposals to strip the Guard of attack helicopters and shave the Army Guard's ranks by 8,000 troops to save cash. Army leaders were a no-show at a gathering of top National Guard commanders in...

Colorado Sen. Cory Gardner (R) said he’s “utterly appalled” by the Colorado Division of Insurance decision to cancel 190,000 health plans that don’t comply with Obamacare regulations — even though they have the authority to continue the old plans for another year under grandfathering rules announced last year. “Coloradans were promised by supporters of this healthcare law that if they liked their plans, they could keep their plans,” he said. “DOI should follow through on that promise, and prove that last year’s extension wasn’t simply an empty election year ploy to fool people into believing they were going to be...

Democratic Colorado Rep. Jared Polis took shots at Republican Sen. Tom Cotton on Twitter Tuesday, labeling the Iraq War veteran as “Tehran Tom” for his role in a letter sent to Iran. “Tehran Tom took his case directly to the Iranian government,” Mr. Polistweeted to his nearly 32,000 followers. He was referring to a letter — signed by Mr. Cotton and 46 of his Republican colleagues — to Iran’s government regarding nuclear negotiations between the two nations, the Washington Examiner reported. “Tehran Tom asks Iranian Revolutionary Guards for help in battle against US diplomats,” Mr. Polisadded, receiving 53 retweets.

Denver Public Schools had four times the number of administrators as any other large metro area districts last year, and salaries and benefits for those staffers are $22 million more than the next largest metro district, Colorado Department of Education figures show. The teachers’ union president reviewed the data Watchdog.org obtained and said the nearly $68 million paid to DPS administrators would be better spent on students. “We need to be talking about keeping dollars closer to classroom when it comes to public education,” said Henry Roman, president of the Denver Classroom Teachers Association. “Should they be putting the money...

So it's true: The early bird gets the fireballs. Coloradans who were up before the sun on Wednesday morning saw a "bright green" fireball soar across the sky before it burned out over the mountains. More than 60 eyewitnesses filed sightings on the American Meteor Society's website. Greg Moore, an analyst and contributor at Weather5280, told Mashable he was driving over the top of Vail pass, west of Denver, just before 6 a.m. local time when "a bright green fireball caught my eye." The object had a "flaming tail with a long trail behind it," Moore said. "As it moved...