Free Republic

Coloradans are overloaded with 18 individual state ballot questions this year, more than at any time since 1912. Simplistic, misleading and inflammatory radio and TV ads - on all sides - generate more heat than light. While I've discussed many of these at length on my radio show, there's only room here for a brief summary and my recommendations.

Chris Romer is a freshman Colorado Senator. He's a bright fellow with a degree from Stanford in economics and more than 20 years of experience in the private sector as a public finance investment banker, specializing in municipal and state budgets. The son of former Gov. Roy Romer, he has a good political pedigree. He describes himself as a "lifelong Democrat," but I don't necessarily hold that against him. After all, Ronald Reagan was once a Democrat. Romer was awarded a seat on the Education Committee. Since Colorado governments - at all levels, combined - spend more money on education...

He's baaack! Sen. Ken Gordon is at it again. After failing to undermine the Electoral College in the last session of the state legislature, he's hoping to have better luck this year with a Democratic majority in both houses and a Democrat as governor. Senate Bill 46 would include Colorado in a compact of other states that pledge to cast all their electoral votes for whichever presidential candidate gets the most popular votes, nationally, regardless of who gets the most votes in our state. In other words, Coloradans would sacrifice their own choice for president to a scheme designed to...

Rosen: Populists equalize poverty January 19, 2007 With the Democrats back in power in Congress and with the 2008 election campaign already upon us, you'll be hearing much more about "income inequality." This is a major issue for "progressives" (when you hear that word, think "socialists") like Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. Populism is back in fashion. By populism, I mean the exploitation of the uninformed, angry impulses and unfiltered passions of the masses. That anger and resentment has historically been directed at the usual villains and cardboard stereotypes: bankers, insurance companies, "big pharma" (that means drug companies), agri-business,...

Dear Mr. McManus: I don't have to tell you that things have changed a lot since the glory days of CBS News when it sat atop the ratings and Walter Cronkite was "the most trusted man in America." Back then there were only a handful of over-the-air broadcast channels and the Big Three networks presided over something of a shared monopoly in early evening news. TV was in its adolescence and viewers were less sophisticated about the medium. Although there were fewer gadgets (not even videotape), newscasts had more substance. Today, the mix of news and entertainment leans increasingly toward...

'Not left or right; right or wrong!" That's the current marketing slogan of a local talk radio station (not mine). It's a clever turn of a phrase and an interesting approach to establishing product differentiation from competing talk stations that promote the conventional split between liberals and conservatives. This imaging strategy is designed to convey the impression that the programmers, personalities and producers on that station somehow rise above the limitations of ideology and the pettiness of partisan politics. The station and radio show (Caplis & Silverman) that Mike is talking about - http://www.khow.com/pages/shows-caplis_silverman.htmlIn theory, this might attract listeners that...

(snip)A recent article in 5280 Magazine extolled the fine efforts of Denver Public Schools Superintendent Michael Bennet to turn around this underperforming district. As a demonstration of the difficulty of his task, we saw a paper submitted by a 10th grader at a DPS high school who was assigned to "write down five things the U.S. government is currently doing that might be unconstitutional." The student offered two: "1. Bushe cold have help the Katrina people whin it hapin. 2. Bushe should't be tipin in to people's phone."(bold added)

Mike Fumento was a guest on the Mike Rosen show on 850am KOA here in Denver Wednesday (Nov. 23rd) to talk about his recent October 2006 trip to Ramadi, Iraq. Mike talks about the REAL story from the one of the most dangerous places in the country. Rosen Replay 11/22/06 10-11AM (about 45 minutes, MP3) Guest: Mike Fumento, journalist for "The Weekly Standard" talks about his latest article, "Return to Ramadi."Click here for part one of the interview Rosen Replay 11/22/06 11-11:45AM (about 30 minutes, MP3) Mike Fumento continued. Click here for part two of the interview --- Mike Fumento's...

Elton John - make that Sir Elton John - recently declared in a magazine interview that "religion should be banned completely." At least he didn't say it should be banned selectively; that might smack of favoritism and discrimination. It seems his animus toward religion is driven largely by his status as a homosexual. He resents religiously based disapproval of his lifestyle and says that religion directs "hatred towards gay people." His ironic remedy is that religious intolerance, as he sees it, shouldn't be tolerated. He's also critical of religious leaders for not coming together to end war. Now, Elton John...

It's said that a picture is worth a thousand words. I only have room for about 700 here so let me be more concise. Just the other day, an editorial cartoon, set in the 1600s, depicted a rowboat full of Pilgrims coming ashore in the New World and encountering a group of Indians constructing a log wall to keep them out. Standing next to a boulder marked "Plymouth Rock" (in case you didn't get it) on the shoreline, one of the Indians, with his arms folded in an unwelcoming position and a disapproving frown on his face, blocked their way....

Rocky Mountain News   To print this page, select File then Print from your browser URL: http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/opinion_columnists/article/0,2777,DRMN_23972_5132213,00.html Rosen: Democrats at the gatesNovember 10, 2006Election 2006 is behind us; the consequences await us. Republicans appear to have lost 29 House seats and six Senate seats. The GOP loss is significant but less than the "six-year itch" historical average of 31 House seats and six Senate seats in midyear elections during a president's second term. So it was bad for Republicans but not quite a disaster. Democrats will have a narrow House majority and a two-vote majority in the Senate. With...

With fully 14 statewide proposals on your Colorado ballot this election, it's no wonder I've been showered with requests to offer my recommendations. I'm flattered that conservatives are looking for guidance from a trusted source. Liberals, I suspect, want to know my choices so they can vote the opposite way. First, a disclosure: I've grown increasingly disaffected with the ballot initiative process in our state. It's better in theory than in practice. The presumption is that it enables well-informed voters to circumvent unresponsive legislators and take direct democratic action. Although there have been a handful of worthy ballot initiatives, the...

Based on this most recent poll here at FR a pathetic 4.7% of FReepers are planning to stay home during this election. You cut'n'run conservatives (intentionally undermining the outstanding men and women of the USA military with your no-show) are in desperate need of this review, a column written by Mike Rosen every few years during the election season: "Why Party Trumps Person". (from 2004) With just 80 days to go before the election, it's time for my quadrennial column on party vs. person. I've been offering and updating this polemic for more than 20 years. For veteran voters, this...

Earlier this morning there was a debate on two ballot initiatives here in Colorado, the 'Domestic Partnerships', Referendum I and the 'Marriage Amendment', Amendment 43. Mike Rosen of 850am KOA radio here in Denver was host and moderator. Mike Rosen is FOR 'Amendment 43' and UNDECIDED on 'Referendum I'. Mike is not a social conservative. He is a fiscal conservative and pro-military. --- Before the debate I thought "Ref I" was going to allow same sex couples visitation rights at hospitals, ability to will death benefits and a few other "rights". It is WAY WAY beyond just that. It will...

Most conservatives who have taken a look at what is being taught about American history and values in our high schools and colleges are well aware of the horrendous brainwashing that is going on to teach our kids to hate America. I first encountered this as a college professor myself, amazingly at a Catholic college you would think would be espousing traditional American values. This was not the fault of that particular college, however, it was just that the professors they hired were products of Vietnam era education where something went so terribly wrong in our entire educational system, and...

Liberals fly their colors, by Mike Rosen It was two years ago that North High School was the center of controversy over a foreign flag. A Mexican flag was given equal prominence with an American flag in a permanent wall display in the school lobby and in a social studies classroom. The teacher who hung the Mexican flag in his classroom said he wanted his students to feel welcome. This was a nice sentiment, but a direct violation of Colorado law. Although North High is almost 85 percent Hispanic, this is still an American school in the United States, funded...

Perhaps you've heard those mean-spirited, hyper attack ads on Denver radio slandering Colorado Secretary of State Gigi Dennis. They're sponsored by Clear Peak Colorado, one of those free-wheeling 527 groups that sprang up to get around campaign finance reform laws like McCain- Feingold. This one is bankrolled by Pat Stryker and Tim Gill, a pair of liberal Democrat fat cats who lavishly support a cornucopia of partisan and left-wing causes. According to Clear Peak's most recent IRS filing, through June of this year Stryker and Gill have poured in just under $180,000 to the cause. Former Colorado Democratic Party Chairman...

Rosen Replay Tuesday 8/22/06 10-11AM Guest: Dr. Larry Schweikart, author of, "America's Victories."http://a1135.g.akamai.net/f/1135/18227/1h/cchannel.download.akamai.com/18227/podcast/DENVER-CO/KOA-AM/Rosen8-22-10AM.mp3 (mp3, 45 minutes) Book Description From the Revolutionary War to the War on Terror, the American military has consistently beaten the odds. It's not luck. America's armed services are under attack. From college campuses to the floor of the Senate, the Iraq war is portrayed as a quagmire, the Army is described as "broken," and our men and women in uniform are maligned as torturers. Hollywood keeps producing anti-war films, and the media celebrates liberal anti-military activists such as Cindy Sheehan. These critics fail to understand the...

Albany LESS THAN FIVE MINUTES into the opening ceremony of the National Organization for Women's 40th Anniversary Con ference here, New York state NOW president Marcia Pappas announces that we are present at a "herstoric event." They really do talk like that. NOW, of course, is the nation's largest feminist organization. Founded in 1966, it reached the apex of its visibility and influence in the late 1970s and early '80s, when it went all out for the Equal Rights Amendment--and lost to Phyllis Schlafly's conservative legions. Today, weakened and marginalized, it staggers on, attempting to recapture the old fire. But...

March 22, 2006 Fmr. Saddam General Georges Sada On The Daily Show; Says WMDS Existed, Were Moved (VIDEO) (Hat Tip: Instapundit) General Georges Sada, who served under the command of Saddam Hussein, appeared on The Daily Show last night to discuss his new book “Saddam’s Secrets“: In his book and on The Daily Show, Sada says that Weapons of Mass Destruction existed, however they were moved to Syria prior to the American invasion in 2003. Stewart asks how he knows this; was it by documents or video, Sada responds: “I was the number two man in the air force�....

March 15, 2006 Saddam General Explains Saddam’s ‘Secrets’ — WMDs, Bombing Israel, and Genocide (AUDIO) I have yet to listen to the whole interview, however reader Anthony J. said that this is a must listen: Former Iraqi General Georges Sada, who was a military adviser to Saddam Hussein appeared on The Mike Rosen Show (850 AM KOA) (Tuesday March 14th, 2006). He is described as an expert air pilot who played a large part in saving coalition forces’ lives in Gulf War I. Sada explains what happened to the WMDs prior to the US led invasion of Iraq in...

Here's how the Los Angeles Times spun the story: "Teacher suspended for Bush remark." Wrong! Several other news stories in our local papers have been no better. Congratulations to Rocky Mountain News reporters who got it right: "The teacher, Jay Bennish, is on paid leave pending the outcome of an investigation into whether he violated a district policy requiring balanced viewpoints being presented in class." Bingo! If teachers were disciplined merely for criticizing President Bush, half of them would probably be out of work. Bennish is under scrutiny for violating his public trust as a teacher of callow young minds...

Here's the recording of the teacher Jay Bennish and his anti Bush, anti Capitalism, anti American, anti Israel rant.

Rosen: Our silly little 'addiction' Sometimes you get great life lessons in unexpected places. Kudos to Scott Adams, the cartoonist who writes the Dilbert comic strip. Adams cut through the fog and gave his readers a valuable insight into the real-world international politics and economics of the energy conundrum. In a recent strip, Dilbert readers were treated to the following exchange: Dilbert: I'm thinking about buying a more fuel-efficient car. Dogbert: Why? Dilbert: It's my patriotic duty to reduce this country's dependence on foreign sources of oil. Dogbert: Why? Dilbert: Because then the countries that hate us will have less...

Newsradio 850KOA presents "The World According to Ann Coulter" Tuesday, March 28 at the Paramount Theatre. Tickets go on sale on Saturday, February 25th at all Ticketmaster centers and at the Paramount Theatre box office. Starting Monday, February 20th listen to Colorado's Morning News and the Mike Rosen show all week to win tickets before they go on sale. Insider members will have a special opportunity to purchase tickets before they go on sale in a special email. <-- Sign up here--> --- Directions to The Paramount Theater in Denver

<p>Monday, February 20th - Guest: Iraqi General, Georges Sada. General Sada's book, "Saddam's Secrets" will be the topic of discussion. Scheduled for 10:00am mountain (noon ET) on the Mike Rosen show at 850am KOA from here in Denver. This will be a rare opportunity to call in and ask a question of this particular guest.</p>

Yes, labels matter. When used honestly they matter very much. Accurately identifying someone's underlying philosophy lets you know where he sits so you can better judge where he stands. It's a filter through which you can screen biases, agendas and baloney. Conservatives tend to speak their minds candidly. They proudly acknowledge their pedigree. When you hear someone declare that "labels don't matter anymore," it's generally a liberal who'd rather disguise his stripes. Maybe that's why Whittaker Chambers, a one-time member of the Communist Party USA who recovered from that perverted ideology, noted that in America "the left can only take...

Rocky Mountain News   To print this page, select File then Print from your browser URL: http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/opinion_columnists/article/0,2777,DRMN_23972_4374613,00.html Rosen: Bias can't be ignoredJanuary 6, 2006In the game of squash, the winning strategy is to control the "T," the lines where the service boxes come together in the center of the court. Similarly, the pathway to credibility in the war of ideas is to create a public perception that you serve up information and analysis from the political center. That's why accurate political and ideological labeling matters. And it's why the liberal media deny their liberal bias, much as a vampire...

It's time for the 18th annual Media Research Center's awards for the most biased, manipulative or downright goofy quotes from liberals in the "mainstream" media. I'm honored to serve, once again, on MRC's distinguished panel of conservatively biased judges. Here are some of the highlights from among the winners and runners-up of Best Notable Quotables of 2005:

The pendulum swings both ways. Last year in Denver, it was Mayor John Hickenlooper proposing to replace the city's traditional "Merry Christmas" sign with one that said "Happy Holidays." The mayor wisely backed off in response to the public outcry, as did the Parade of Lights, this year, reversing its policy barring religious floats. Earlier this month, Speaker of the U.S. House Dennis Hastert, issued a directive instructing the architect of the Capitol to drop the name "Capitol Holiday Tree" - adopted in the late 1990s under the authority of no one who's now willing to admit to it -...

Rosen: College: No free lunches December 16, 2005 If you want something and don't have the money to pay for it, you have two choices: You can save up until you're able to buy it or you can borrow the money and get what you want now rather than later. This works well with the purchase of a house or a car. It also makes sense for a college education. Borrowing is the fun part. Paying it back can be less pleasant. So say students who have posted their gripes online in something called the Student Debt Yearbook, a project...

Rosen: Education friends, foes December 9, 2005 'Mike Rosen is no friend of public education." This assertion was passed on to me by an ally, a lonely free spirit within the public education establishment. It wasn't his view, mind you; it was the opinion of one of his colleagues. Au contraire, Pierre. That indictment couldn't be further from the truth. Who could possibly be opposed to an educated public? It's the pathway to success in our society. I'm very much a friend of rigorous programs to create an educated public. And I'm also committed to our traditional approach of funding...

Liars lying about lies, by Mike Rosen Vice President Dick Cheney gave a speech on Nov. 21 at the American Enterprise Institute defending the administration's Iraq policy. This was part of a long overdue counterattack against the tactics of the president's political critics and their allies in the liberal media. Cheney made a particular point of setting the record straight about his criticism of some of the critics. He said, "Several days ago, I commented briefly on some recent statements that have been made by some members of Congress about Iraq. Within hours of my speech, a report went out...

Rosen wrote the following prior to Daly resigning, before he could be fired. I thought leftists didn't believe in preemptive strikes. Rocky Mountain News   To print this page, select File then Print from your browser URL: http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/opinion_columnists/article/0,2777,DRMN_23972_4265408,00.html Rosen: Another nutty professorNovember 25, 2005It's not just the University of Colorado at Boulder that harbors wacko, America-hating lefties. Behold, the sequel: "Son of Churchill." At Warren County Community College in rural New Jersey, John Peter Daly, an adjunct English professor, went off the deep end last week in an outrageous e-mail to a student. The student was Rebecca Beach, a freshman...

I gave a talk recently on one of my favorite topics: liberal bias in the media. In the course of my remarks I referred to a quote made famous by Finley Peter Dunne's fictional alter ego, Mr. Dooley, a caricature of an Irishman from the old country who once sarcastically declared that the job of the newspaper is to "comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable." Dunne, himself, was a one-time Progressive who saw the light and became a Teddy Roosevelt Republican and a critic of sanctimonious do-gooders. Contemporary journalists may be unaware that the context of the Dunne quote...

GOP chairman Ken Mehlman will be on the Mike Rosen show today at 1:00pm ET (11:00am mountain), THU Nov. 17th, coming up in just less than 3 hours from now on 850am KOA. It will be great to get some FReepers from around the country to call in and ask questions on 'Able Danger', President Bush missing in action on illegal immigration, etc. You can listen LIVE here: http://www.850koa.com/ (click Listen LIVE near top left side of the page) The call-in number is 1-303-713-8585. You can also email suggested question to Mike at mikerosen@clearchannel.com NOTE to Admin Mod - I...

Rosen: Duty, Honor, Country November 11, 2005 Today is Veterans' Day - the day we honor those without whose sacrifice this nation would never have been forged nor could it continue to exist. It took a war to win our independence and freedom from England. It's taken many wars since then, the service of tens of millions and the ultimate sacrifice of hundreds of thousands of courageous Americans to defend those precious values. In November 1919, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed Nov. 11 as Armistice Day, commemorating the end of hostilities in "the war to end all wars." That was a...

Dear Governor: November 9, 2005 06:19 AM EST There is no such thing as a fusion candidate, no such thing as a bipartisan campaign or a non-partisan issue, and come election night, there are just two parties, one at the GOP HQ and one at the Dem HQ. There's a winners' party and a losers' party. Last night you were speaking to the losers' party. I didn't go. Why bother? The polls had shown for a few days that only Prop 75 had a chance (the measure to stop public employee unions from deducting political dues from their members' paychecks...

TODAY, Californians are heading to the polls to vote on several major propositions that shall dramatically affect both the political and economic future of our state. We are following the activity and will report the results. California Propositions 2.8% of precincts reporting as of Nov 08 08:13 PM PST Results: http://www.sfgate.com/election/

We owe a great debt to Air Force Academy head football coach Fisher DeBerry. To be sure, the initial knee-jerk reaction to his recent comments about black football players being generally faster than white ones caused him to be treated like a "politically incorrect" piñata (my God, I hope I haven't offended Latinos). Upon reflection, however, his statements were so obviously true that something of an anti-PC backlash has materialized in his defense. To their credit, Sam Adams and Thierry Smith, two African-American Denver sportswriters, both agreed on their KKFN radio talk show that DeBerry's remarks weren't racist and that...

Louisiana National Guard Col. Thomas Beron tells The (New Orleans) Times-Picayune of his encounter with a doctor from FEMA. The doctor and three others arrived at the Superdome with a refrigerated 18-wheeler prepared to process 200 bodies that were reportedly stored in a freezer, there, following accounts of murder, mayhem and rape. The real total was six, Col.Beron explains. Four died from natural causes, one from an overdose, and one was an apparent suicide. (Four other bodies were found, nearby, outside the Dome.) The Times-Picayune went on to expose a long list of wild exaggerations and false claims of carnage...

You can listen to the guest appearance of Ann Coulter on the Mike Rosen show from yesterday (Tues. Oct. 4th) for yourself: http://www.startcolorado.com/iac/KOA-AM/rosen-coulter.wma (Windows media player, 27+ minutes running time) While I like President Bush and think he's done a good overall job so far this nomination of Harriet Miers, signing the overspending bills being passed by Congress and missing in action on the illegal immigration issue are examples where he gets very poor marks in my book.

Ann Coulter just took apart President Bush's SCOTUS nominee on the air during her appearance on the Mike Rosen show here in Denver on 850am KOA. She called for listeners to write their senators to oppose the nomination. Wish you could have heard it! Ann said - "Totally unqualified", called Judge Roberts "a 'dream' candidate in light of this nomination", mentioned "cronyism" over and over. Much more that I'm trying to digest. I called the station to see if they saved the audio, but no luck on that. Mike Rosen was just about speechless as Ann went on and on...

"Tuesday, October 4th - Guest is Ann Coulter at the ten o'clock hour." (That's Noon ET, 11:00am central, 10:00am mountain and 9:00am pacific for you folks in Rio Linda) Ann will be appearing for the full hour to promote her just released and updated paperback "How to Talk to a Liberal (If You Must). You can listen LIVE on-line at: http://www.850koa.com/listen/index.html (no registration required) Ann's new paperback at Amazon Ann Coulter website

Rocky Mountain News   To print this page, select File then Print from your browser URL: http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/news_columnists/article/0,1299,DRMN_86_4102007,00.html Rosen: Let's roll, sans crescentSeptember 23, 2005Thank you, Tom Tancredo. Your letter to the National Park Service was a catalyst to action. Last week, the Park Service announced that it would change the name and modify the design of a proposed memorial to the 40 passengers of United Flight 93 who were killed on Sept. 11, 2001. This was the airplane hijacked by al-Qaida Islamofascist terrorists intent on a target, perhaps the White House or the Capitol, in Washington, D.C. Learning via...

Whatever the shortcomings of the Bush administration, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and other federal agencies in responding to Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath in New Orleans, it's now clear to any fair-minded observer that the major responsibility for the failure to adequately prepare, to order a mandatory evacuation earlier and to respond to those left behind belongs to local authorities, specifically New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin and Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco. Predictably, partisan Democrats, media liberals and pathological Bush-haters have ignored or downplayed Nagin's and Blanco's culpability and focused their attacks on President Bush. Their strategy is transparent. It's...

The natural disaster that devastated New Orleans had been predicted for this below-sea-level city on the turbulent Gulf Cost for a hundred years or more. It was inevitable. The death toll is estimated to be in the thousands; the economic cost in the tens of billions. Now, we'll bury our dead, mourn their passing and begin the laborious process of cleanup and restoration. What else is there to do? The sights, sounds and smells emanating from New Orleans, the images of dead bodies floating in the water, the killing and looting, the throng of homeless fleeing the destruction and its...

Other than a three-day weekend, most Americans don't give much thought to what they're supposed to be observing on Labor Day. In practice, it's become little more than the unofficial celebration of the end of summer. Back in 1882, when New York City's Central Labor Union inaugurated the holiday, the labor movement was quite a different thing than it is today. Once upon a time, workers had valid grievances regarding pay, hours, conditions and safety. Unions served a positive role in leveraging the collective influence of their members to pressure management to redress those grievances. But labor unions are political...

Good interview by Mike Rosen on KOA 850am today with Melanie Morgan of Move America Forward and Deborah Johns of Northern California Marine Corps Moms. In the final minutes of their one hour appearance a caller from Colorado Springs called in to argue against the two guests and the mission of our military in Iraq. He started the call by stating that he had served for ten years in the Army during the first gulf war in Kuwait / Iraq. The caller was unhinged during his 5 to 7 minutes 'debating' with Mike and Melanie Morgan, totally undisciplined. He was...

Thursday, August 25th - "Move America Forward's" Chairman Melanie Morgan will be on to discuss the "You Don't Speak for Me, Cindy" Tour. She is scheduled for 10:00am mountain (noon ET ... 9:00am for the folks on the west coast and Rio Linda). If the time changes for any reason I will post it here on this thread so stay tuned. You can listen to Mike Rosen's show LIVE by visiting the 850am KOA website, http://www.850koa.com/", and click the 'Listen Live' link near the top on the left side of the page. There is no registration required.