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Rep. Thomas Massie, the 2024 keynote to RMGO, notes irony of President Biden pardon
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Approved, National, Rocky Mountain Voice

Rep. Thomas Massie, the 2024 keynote to RMGO, notes irony of President Biden pardon

By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice In the wake of President Joe Biden pardoning his son, Hunter, for a variety of criminal offenses, including the unlawful purchase of a firearm, one 2nd Amendment advocate familiar to gun-owning Coloradans noted the irony. U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Kentucky, who was the keynote speaker this year at the Rocky Mountain Gun Owners' annual banquet, called upon Biden to expand the pardon in an effort for equal application of the law. "Since Joe Biden thinks a particular gun law shouldn’t be enforced for his son Hunter Biden, he should pardon everyone who’s been prosecuted under that same provision," Massey wrote on Twitter/X. https://twitter.com/RepThomasMassie/status/1863693757469659314 In addition to his role this year with RMGO, Massie ...
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Schumann: Understanding special districts. Where your tax dollars meet local decisions and why you should care
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Approved, Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice

Schumann: Understanding special districts. Where your tax dollars meet local decisions and why you should care

By Jen Schumann | Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Coloradans, on average, will pay $540,680 in taxes over their lifetime.  Many politicians promise to limit taxes once elected. President Trump believes there is a way the U.S. can abolish federal taxes. Let's say the second Trump Administration does fix the $36 trillion national debt crisis, growing by $268 million each hour, and cuts federal taxes. There will still be state and local taxes to pay. Many local leaders elected through special district elections will set county and city tax rates. They make decisions on how to spend taxpayer dollars, having a huge impact on residents' lives. In Colorado, there are more than 3,000 special districts.  Special district elections in Colorado have low voter turnout. But...
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Russel: If Republicans can deliver on populist platform, they can expand on majorities
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Approved, Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice

Russel: If Republicans can deliver on populist platform, they can expand on majorities

By Robert Russel | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Having won an impressive yet precarious electoral majority in the 2024 election, MAGA Republicans are faced with a conundrum -- whether to follow several previous Republican majorities down the path of tired old policies that voters repeatedly reject, or embrace specific issues on which they campaigned to deliver what the voters asked.  In 2023, the new House majority outfought and outmaneuvered Biden into accepting a budget deal with $1.5 trillion in spending cuts while avoiding further drastic cuts to an underfunded military or cuts to social security. They had gotten major concessions, and given Biden nothing that the Democrats did not already have. In the bargain, they even got Biden blamed for the confrontation, a...
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Boddie: Independent expenditure committees effect election outcomes
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Approved, Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice

Boddie: Independent expenditure committees effect election outcomes

By CS Boddie | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice One of the reasons candidates lost in the 2024 election may be that independent expenditure committees (IECs), with millions to spend, negatively affected the races. Was it mainly Democrat-leaning IECs at work or did Republican-leaning IECs play too? Pertinent facts are available from TRACER, a  ‘campaign financial disclosure website’ to which political candidates and ‘issue committees’ reported for the office of the secretary of state.  Note that the home page shows a big disparity in ‘contributions and loans filed in 2024’ by political parties, with Democrats receiving about $6.8 million in loans and contributions while Republicans received $1.8 million. Just one IEC existed to support Republicans: New Day Col...
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Mesa County makes progress in eradicating Japanese beetle from Western Slope
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Approved, Local, Rocky Mountain Voice

Mesa County makes progress in eradicating Japanese beetle from Western Slope

By Lindy Browning | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice Mesa County commissioners are breathing just a little bit easier after discovering that their efforts, combined with resources from the state and the community, are working to get rid of the Japanese beetle infestation on the Western Slope. The Japanese beetle was discovered in Mesa County in 2022.  The beetle is devastating to crops grown on the Western Slope, particularly the prized fruit crops that are sold all over the country. Through collaborative efforts with public and private groups, and strategic partnerships with state agricultural entities, Mesa County has made significant progress in protecting landscapes and agriculture from the Japanese beetle. This year, the fight against the beetle gained moment...
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Devotional: If you want to live in amity, navigate your emotions with love
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Approved, Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice

Devotional: If you want to live in amity, navigate your emotions with love

By Drake Hunter | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice The word “amity” might sound like something out of an old-fashioned novel or the name of a charming little town, but it’s far more than that — it’s a transformative treasure we’ve lost in the shuffle of our fast-paced, fragmented lives. So, what exactly is amity, and why is it important? Simply put, it is the pursuit of friendly relationships and mutual understanding. It’s not just about holding hands and singing songs; it's about the deep, intentional pursuit of harmony, friendship, goodwill, and affection that creates lasting fulfillment and joy. But here’s the twist: amity is more than just being nice and staying in line with the norm regarding friendships and understanding — it’s a spiritual calling that can transform our l...
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Recount ordered in House District 19; Results of HD16 and HD19 recounts due Dec. 6
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Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Recount ordered in House District 19; Results of HD16 and HD19 recounts due Dec. 6

By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice The second of two recounts which will decide whether Republicans have erased the Democratic supermajority in the Colorado House has been ordered by Secretary of State Jena Griswold's office. Following the order of a recount Monday in House District 16, Griswold, as expected, ordered the recount in House District 19 later this week. After the tabulation of 56,729 votes in the Boulder and Weld County state House District 19 race, Republican Dan Woog was 109 votes ahead of Democrat Jillaire McMillan, by a margin of 20 one-hundredths of 1 percent of the vote, or 0.2%. State law requires a recount of an election with a margin of victory between the two leading candidates of less than half of 1 percent, or a 0.5% margin. "The counties within thi...
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Gaines: Yes, oppose anti-2A legislation, but don’t forget to support state and local pro-gun orgs
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Approved, Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice

Gaines: Yes, oppose anti-2A legislation, but don’t forget to support state and local pro-gun orgs

By Cory Gaines | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice The recent election results for Proposition KK (the state excise tax on guns and ammunition) were disappointing, but not altogether a surprise.  By this point, Colorado gun owners and those that support the 2nd Amendment are becoming accustomed to annual encroachments on that right, the one new detail here being that it's now clear that the liberal districts along the Front Range, Interstate 70 and in the Southwest corner of the state are following the lead of those they sent to the state capitol. What can you do if you are one of those gun owners or 2A supporters?  What can you do if you're concerned about fundamental Constitutional rights? Over the last two or three years, it's become increasingl...
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Rahn: The value of AP African-American studies is in the truth, not CRT
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Approved, Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice

Rahn: The value of AP African-American studies is in the truth, not CRT

By Priscilla Rahn | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice What is education for? Education is about searching for the truth, analyzing and differentiating good ideas from bad. Imagine a classroom where students are inspired to be creative, independent, taught self-determination and invested in the power of capitalism.  As a conservative, Republican and descendant of enslaved Africans, I believe in personal responsibility, freedom and the promise of America’s founding ideals. These traits are foundational to American greatness. Advanced Placement (AP) African-American Studies teaches students these ideals through historical analysis. This course is not CRT, which has become weaponized to define the human experience as solely and completely about our race, rather, it is a valu...
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Why are Colorado rest stops closed? CDOT blames a lack of funds to reopen
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Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Why are Colorado rest stops closed? CDOT blames a lack of funds to reopen

By Lindy Browning | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice Cass Brock of Pueblo is disappointed, to say the least, concerning access to the multiple rest stops along the Interstate 25 corridor from Denver to the southern part of the state. “I live in Pueblo and we drive I-25 to Denver monthly and also drive south on I-25.  When we drive through other states, their rest areas are and have been reopened for years since Covid restrictions.  Why are Colorado rest areas still closed?  I think it is a disservice to the over the road (OTR) truckers, and our state's residents,” she said in an email to Rocky Mountain Voice staff. According to records posted online, Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) claims there are several reasons that these rest stops are still closed. The s...
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