Free Republic

Many people who came to the El Paso County Republican Party Lincoln Day Dinner on Wednesday had not made up their minds on Mitt Romney. Sure, the former Massachusetts governor and GOP presidential candidate gained national fame by salvaging the scandal-ridden 2002 Winter Olympics next door in Utah. But his East Coast political career and Mormon religion left some questions in the crowd of Western, largely mainstream Christians. Romney, however, seemed to dispel many of those doubts during a 35-minute address to a 700-person crowd at The Broadmoor hotel. Several notable Republicans said afterward they were surprised or pleased by...

Posted: May 10, 2007 1:00 a.m. Eastern By Sandy Froman © 2007 As I explained in my previous column, federal courts have the power to declare what the Constitution means, and their opinions supersede any pronouncements by Congress, the president, the states or anyone else. And the opinion of our highest court, the U.S. Supreme Court, is the law of the land. But the Supreme Court has never definitively ruled on what the Second Amendment means. The Second Amendment contains 27 words: "A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to...

Colorado Springs police will discuss how they handle protests in a town hall meeting Friday, part of a court-ordered settlement in a federal lawsuit filed by 12 peace activists arrested in 2003 outside Peterson Air Force Base. The panel discussion will be aired on the city’s Channel 18, and police must use the tape as a training tool in crowd control, according to the agreement reached late last year. The point of the meeting is to discuss both police and demonstrators’ perspectives, Colorado Springs assistant city attorney Tom Marrese said. “I don’t think it’s going to be something where the...

House OKs bill; Ritter expected to sign By ED SEALOVER, THE GAZETTE April 28, 2007 - 12:40AM DENVER - Throw down the baby’s meal money and order another shot of whiskey — but whatever you do, don’t light up that cigarette at the poker table. Beginning Jan. 1, Colorado’s casinos likely will be home to one less vice. The House voted Thursday to ban smoking in casinos beginning at 8 a.m. on the first day of 2008, joining the Senate in a compromise between the July 1, 2007, snuff-out date proposed by the House and the July 1, 2008, deadline...

Adams ruling calls state law unconstitutional By April M. Washington, Rocky Mountain News April 12, 2007 Correction This story should have said that Adams County Judge Robert S. Doyle declared the state's smoking ban unconstitutional for two reasons. First, he found that the law denied due process because it allowed smoking in "tobacco bars" and not other establishments without providing any opportunity for a bar to establish itself as a tobacco bar before the effective date of the act, and by not allowing any process by which a new bar could become a tobacco bar. Second, Judge Doyle found that...

Should gays have a place in a festival celebrating cultural diversity? It’s a question at the heart of the latest city government controversy about sexual orientation, raising issues that have divided the community for years. The debate that began this week concerns whether gay participation in a downtown festival would improperly politicize the event. The festival is scheduled for Aug. 18 and is sponsored by the Colorado Springs Diversity Forum, a private group. The festival is supposed to include dance, music, cooking and booths where organizations will share information about their programs. The diversity forum came to the council Monday...

Room 108 of the municipal courthouse offers a choice: You can go there straight after pleading guilty to speeding, littering or other violations and pay your fine. Or you can pay $25 to reserve a jury. All seven protesters arrested during the St. Patrick’s Day parade chose the second option Tuesday, saying they intend to return for a day in court to vindicate themselves. Originally charged with failure to disperse, the seven protesters learned during their arraignment Tuesday afternoon that the city attorney instead will charge them with “obstructing passage or assembly.” “We didn’t stop anything. We weren’t a safety...

DENVER - A resolution opposing escalation of the Iraq war passed the state House on Thursday on a strictly partyline vote, with every Democrat in favor and every Republican opposed. Here’s a sample of the statements made by legislators during the floor debate Thursday: - “It is altogether right that we memorialize their sacrifice in whatever small and inadequate way that we might, and I say inadequate in that the proclamations of politicians mean very little. . . . But the thrust of this memorial, like a bayonet through the hearts of the men and women in the field, is...

WASHINGTON (AFRNS) -- Before a U.S. aircraft broke the sound barrier, the Tuskegee Airmen overcame a daunting social hurdle: breaking the Air Force's color barrier. In the Capitol Rotunda here March 29, President Bush and Congress awarded the Congressional Gold Medal to the Tuskegee Airmen, more than 60 years after the 332nd Fighter Group's World War II achievements that were made bittersweet by the racial discrimination they endured after returning home. "I thank you for the honor you have brought to our country, and the medal you are about to receive means that our country honors you," President Bush said...

"I'm Tired" (Letter From Joe Repya, Lieutenant Colonel, U. S. Army) A Letter from a ' REAL AMERICAN ' The TRUTH & ONLY THE TRUTH SO HELP ME GOD!! "I'm Tired" Two weeks ago, as I was starting my sixth month of duty in Iraq, I was forced to return to the USA for surgery for an injury I sustained prior to my deployment. With luck, I'll return to Iraq to finish my tour. I left Baghdad and a war that has every indication that we are winning, to return to a demoralized country much like the one I returned...

Next target of smoking ban: casinos By ED SEALOVER THE GAZETTE March 27, 2007 - 12:29AM DENVER - Colorado casinos, one of the last bastions for smokers since a statewide ban went into effect in 2006, might be losing their exemption after a year’s reprieve. State senators voted 22-12 Monday in favor of a measure banning smoking at casinos in Cripple Creek, Central City and Black Hawk. Casinos were granted an exemption from the ban in last year’s Colorado Clean Indoor Air Act, along with cigar bars, businesses of three employees or less that aren’t open to the public and...

By ANTHONY LANE THE GAZETTE March 10, 2007 - 1:26AM Four Colorado Springs bar owners who recently announced plans to defy the state’s smoking ban were cited Friday for suspected violations of the law. Customers openly smoked at the bar of Murray Street Darts early Friday afternoon, about an hour after a visit from police officers and state liquor inspectors ended with owner Bruce Hicks holding a stack of tickets listing 22 suspected violations of the law, each carrying a $200 fine. “They are trying to shut us up,” said Hicks, who has tried to organize bar owners to join...

Unsung hero hailed Vet lost leg but not hope BY LISA MUÑOZ DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER Vietnam veteran John Devine remembers lifting up the hospital bedsheet, seeing just one leg and thinking, "At least I got one." An enemy mortar had destroyed his right leg and taken the life of a soldier beside him, yet Devine managed to look on the bright side. The Massapequa man would later give in to years of feeling sorry for himself before reaching a turning point when he decided to be happy and enjoy life, he said. Devine, 57, who dedicated his life to...

Locals become vocal with D-38 over Wissler Ranch By: Nicole Osborn, Tri-Lakes Tribune04/18/2006 Email to a friendPost a CommentPrinter-friendly Tensions were high when residents gathered at Lewis-Palmer High School both Tuesday and Wednesday night of last week to discuss School District 38's quest to find a solution to overcrowding at the school. The Save Wissler Ranch group - consisting of residents in support of keeping 60 acres sought by the school district for a second high school in the hands of the current owner, 87-year-old Marie Wissler - hosted a meeting on Tuesday, April 11, to get a sense of...

Marijuana advocates scored a breathtaking victory in the Mile High City as Denver voters legalized adult possession of small amounts of marijuana. "I think it just goes to show that people in Denver were fed up with a law that prohibited adults from making a rational, safer decision regarding what they put into their bodies," said Mason Tvert, the 23-year- old Denver man who spearheaded the Initiative 100 campaign. While other big cities, such at Seattle and Oakland, Calif., have passed laws making adult pot use a low police priority, supporters said passage of I-100 would make Denver the first...

Shooting suspect fled Illegal immigrant sought in death of turkey hunter By Ellen Miller, Special to the News June 17, 2005 GLENWOOD SPRINGS - A ranch hand working in the country illegally is suspected of fatally shooting a Qwest executive May 14 and then fleeing to Mexico, Garfield County Sheriff Lou Vallario said Thursday. Vallario said he doesn't believe the ranch hand knew he was shooting at Jeff Garrett, who was turkey hunting and heavily camouflaged, but the man apparently realized he had done so and fled the same morning. The sheriff refused to name the suspect or his hometown...

Baby girl on suspect's mind Gomez-Garcia's aunt says he wanted to see infant daughter By Maria Avila And Gwen Florio, Rocky Mountain News June 10, 2005 CULIACÁN, Mexico - While hiding out in Mexico, suspected cop-killer Raul Gomez-Garcia had one recurring thought. "He wanted to go back to his baby girl," said Veronica Perez, Gomez-Garcia's aunt. Gomez-Garcia spent nearly a month in Mexico while authorities in the United States sought him in connection with the slaying of Denver police officer Donald Young. Yet, for much of that time, said relatives with whom Gomez-Garcia stayed, the fugitive talked of little else...

Gomez-Garcia could spend life in prison Decision on charges may ease bid for extradition to Denver By Sarah Langbein and Brian D. Crecente, Rocky Mountain News June 10, 2005 There is still a chance Raul Gomez-Garcia could spend the rest of his life behind bars in the United States. That's possible because Gomez-Garcia was charged Thursday with second-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder. A first-degree murder charge, which carries a sentence of life without parole or the death penalty, would have made it unlikely Mexico would send Gomez-Garcia here to stand trial for the slaying of a Denver police officer.

Salazar asks Mexico to return suspect By Lynn Bartels, Rocky Mountain News June 8, 2005 U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar told the U.S. and Mexican attorneys general Tuesday that a suspected cop killer nabbed in Mexico should be returned to Denver to face a possible death sentence. Mexico does not extradite its citizens if they face the death penalty or the possibility of life in prison without parole. But Salazar, a Democrat and former Colorado attorney general, says exceptions should be made in "extraordinary circumstances" such as in the case of Raul Garcia-Gomez.

Mexico draws line on return Terms: no death penalty, no life without parole By Sue Lindsay and Fernando Quintero, Rocky Mountain News June 7, 2005 Mexican authorities will not return Raul Garcia-Gomez to the United States unless prosecutors agree to spare him from execution and life without parole, the Mexican consul in Denver said Monday. Juan Marcos Gutierrez-Gonzalez, consul general of Mexico in Denver, stressed the cooperation between Mexican and U.S. authorities that resulted in Garcia-Gomez's arrest Saturday night. "We are now having one of the best moments of Colorado-Mexico relations," he said. But the consul said recent court rulings...