Our Platform for Outlining Colorado’s Future

    A Different Christmas Poem    The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,  I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.    My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,  My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.  Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,  Transforming the yard to a winter delight.  The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,  Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.    My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,  Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.  In perfect contentment, or so it would ...

Can supporters of same-sex marriage and those protesting the Mormon Church's involvement help me with something? President-elect Barack Obama won the election by 6.5 percent nationwide. This is being described as a "landslide" and a "mandate" by the media, Obama supporters and other prominent democrats. Conversely, the legality of same-sex marriage was on the ballot in three states, two of these states won by President-elect Obama. Of the nearly 20 million votes cast in these three states on the same-sex marriage issue, legal same-sex marriage was defeated by a margin of 56 percent to 44 percent. An 8 percent margin of defeat, larger than Obama's margin of victory. Should logic not command that this result be defined as a mandate against same-sex marriage? If not, why not? And instead of blaming "confused" Black voters and the Mormon Church, why are supporters of same-sex marriage avoiding the real culprit? Barack Obama! Yes, the head of you...

Whatever you tax, you punish. Why would you punish people for working and making money? Remember that I am not saying that the government should collect any more money. Just that we should eliminate the income tax. In order to replace the revenue loss each city, and state will have to decide which usage fees, and "sin taxes" they will use to replace the income tax. Republicans have good principles, but they rarely follow them. One of the good principals that republicans talk about, but never seem to follow threw is the principle of rewarding good behavior and punishing bad behavior. We should lose taxes that tax good behavior, like income tax and increase sin vastly increase sin taxes. The Republican Party is typically seen as your father's party. The democrats are like your mom. They care about your feelings, but the republicans have tough love, and tell you to stop feeling sorry for yourself, and get to work. Parents tend to learn, that if you do stuff for their kids al...

Reasons to agree We live in a world were millions of middle-age minded people would like to destroy America. We could throw away all our weapons, and fight them with bronze spears. However diverse modern populations, with equal rights for minorities, that promote civil rights, a free press, the rule of law, and invests in education, health-care, etcetera... these societies are going to have a technological advantage. Those societies that work hard, educate their public, that work efficiently, and allow their women to be productive members of society... those societies that embrace science, reason, law, and education... these societies are the best care-takers of the future. Human histories are full of war. We live in a time when dictators still build statues to themselves, and enslave their populations. Therefore it is important that modern societies have modern weapons.  Societies that use irrational extremism to motivate their geneses to build weapons fo...

This is a great article by Michele Obama. It is unfortunate that we have a double standard. If a republican woman was to say something like that, they would be looked down upon. People would call them Stepford Wives. But it is great for Michele to say it. Exit question: What would you say to someone that Michele Obama (a democrate) is a more devoted mom than Sarah Palin? Does it matter how much time Mr. Palin spends with the kids?

This is a great article by Michele Obama. It is unfortunate that we have a double standard. If a republican woman was to say something like that, they would be looked down upon. People would call them Stepford Wives. But it is great for Michele to say it. Exit question: What would you say to someone that Michele Obama (a democrate) is a more devoted mom than Sarah Palin? Does it matter how much time Mr. Palin spends with the kids?

Reasons to agree We don't choose where we are born, so it is kind of silly to be proud of it. People aren't all that different, in different states.  Their are liberals in Alaska, and conservatives in New York. Sarah Palin accuses those who live in New York of being "elite", and then when asked what she means by "elite" she says people who think they are better than others. Sarah Palin seems to think she is better than New Yorkers because she is from Alaska.

http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=29105

"Finally, a gaffe that is far more worrisome than the others: According to Obama, the U.S. "cannot continue to rely on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives we've set." He continued, "We've got to have a civilian national security force that's just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded." Whoa there, compadre! (That's a little Spanish there for the man who wants us all to learn it.) Will this "national security force" also wear brown shirts? Oddly enough, it seems that Obama's campaign realized that wouldn't fly—the line was stricken from the transcripts given to the media, though it is still in the video posted on YouTube."

"Finally, a gaffe that is far more worrisome than the others: According to Obama, the U.S. "cannot continue to rely on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives we've set." He continued, "We've got to have a civilian national security force that's just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded." Whoa there, compadre! (That's a little Spanish there for the man who wants us all to learn it.) Will this "national security force" also wear brown shirts? Oddly enough, it seems that Obama's campaign realized that wouldn't fly—the line was stricken from the transcripts given to the media, though it is still in the video posted on YouTube."

Congressmen who willfully take actions during wartime that damages morale and undermine the military are saboteurs and should be arrested, quickly tried and hanged!

Applauding the Supreme Court's Gun Ruling   The Supreme Court got it exactly right today in their decision affirming an individual right to bear arms.   What concerns me is that four members of the court dissented. The narrow 5-4 ruling is yet another reminder of the importance of appointing strict constructionist judges who will not read rights out of the Constitution but instead affirm the ones that are plainly stated there.   In striking down the DC ban on handgun ownership, the Court stood up for one of our most cherished freedoms, the freedom to defend our lives, our property and our liberty. This should put to rest once and for all the fanciful notion that gun ownership in America is tied to membership in a state militia.   added on 06/26/2008 by Mitt Romney

Ann Corkery, who directs philanthropy at Security National Servicing Corporation, introduced Governor Romney as he received the Canterbury Award from the Becket Fund. "As it turned out, the governor's speech of December 6th last year was the high point of the entire primary season. It was one of those moments when a serious thought managed to break through the noise. What left an impression was not just the power of the words, but also the qualities of the man, and of the wife beside him. "One quality of note is surely their forbearance, at that moment and throughout the campaign. If you wonder exactly what it was like for Catholics, in other places and other times, Mitt and Ann could share some details from their own experience. At every turn, they had to explain their faith — to defend the good and venerable teachings of the Mormon Church. They were constantly called to account, even by people not usually interested in spiritual matters … and by others with creeds and ...

Religion and Freedom As prepared by Mitt Romney for delivery to the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty Dinner May 8, 2008 Thank you. It is an honor for Ann and me to be with you this evening. We have a lot of friends who work with the Becket Fund . As you can imagine, that makes your recognition even more meaningful. Your mission – and my topic this evening – involve the intertwining of religion and government. It's not a new topic. It was in the 12th century that Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Beckett famously refused to allow Henry II to control the Church of England. As you are well aware, his conviction came with a high price: he was killed by the king's soldiers in his own cathedral.  Our religious liberty in America was bought in large measure by the sacrifice of men and women like Thomas Beckett . The battle for religious freedom is not over, nor is it likely to ever be.  I appreciate the work you do to protect a fundamental human liberty and to defend those w...

Images are from : http://markcronan.livejournal.com/ From HotAir: Beware the cult of personality in all its forms . From Wikipedia: A cult of personality or personality cult arises when a country's leader uses mass media to create a heroic public image through unquestioning flattery and praise. Cults of personality are often found in dictatorships but can be found in some democracies as well. A cult of personality is similar to general hero worship except that it is created specifically for political leaders. However, the term may be applied by analogy to refer to adulation of non-political leaders. Background Throughout history, monarchs were almost always held in enormous reverence. Through the principle of the divine right of kings , rulers were said to hold office by the will of God . Imperial China (see Mandate of Heaven ), ancient Egypt , Japan , the Inca , the Aztecs , and the Roman Empire (see imperial cult ) are especially noted for redefining monarchs a...

Images are from : http://markcronan.livejournal.com/ From HotAir: Beware the cult of personality in all its forms . From Wikipedia: A cult of personality or personality cult arises when a country's leader uses mass media to create a heroic public image through unquestioning flattery and praise. Cults of personality are often found in dictatorships but can be found in some democracies as well. A cult of personality is similar to general hero worship except that it is created specifically for political leaders. However, the term may be applied by analogy to refer to adulation of non-political leaders. Background Throughout history, monarchs were almost always held in enormous reverence. Through the principle of the divine right of kings , rulers were said to hold office by the will of God . Imperial China (see Mandate of Heaven ), ancient Egypt , Japan , the Inca , the Aztecs , and the Roman Empire (see imperial cult ) are especially noted for redefining monarchs as god-kings...

Issues : Keeping Americans Safe We must ensure that our intelligence and law enforcement efforts are able to address threats before they reach our shores. Reasons to agree: Addressing threats means learning about them, studying them, and working with other governments in stopping them. Reasons to disagree: Blow-back. If we don't "address threats" in a smart way, it might create resentment. Webpages that agree http://www.fbi.gov/ https://www.cia.gov/ http://www.state.gov/

Issues / Keeping Americans Safe Romney has said that, we should spend at lest 4 percent of GDB on defense. Reasons to agree This kind of investment will make up for critical gaps in the modernization of our equipment, personnel and health care efforts. We have typically spent about 4% of GDP on defense. 4% is a good amount, given our challenges. Most countries spend about 4% of their GDP. Sometimes people try to make a big deal about how we spend more than other countries, but that is just because our economy is so much bigger than most other countries. Indonesia spends a higher percent of GDP, so does China. Saudi Arabia spend about twice as much as we do. We have a lot of land. Our people are spread out over a large distance. Everyone wants to take out the big dog. We are the protectors of the free world from despotic, tyrannical countries that want to rule the world, and are willing to kill others to be in charge... We would like it if other democracies carried their portion...

Governor Mitt Romney and Drugs People should have to pass drug test to get government assistance . 2003 12-21-2005 ; Healey kicks off student drug testing program in New Bedford 02-21-2003a ; Governor Mitt Romney fights for prescription drug coverage for seniors 2005 12-20-2005 ; HEALEY EXPANDS SUBSTANCE ABUSE TREATMENT FOR WOMEN 07-28-2005 ; HEALEY ENDORSES MANDATORY OVERDOSE REPORTING BILL 2006 06-30-2006 ; ROMNEY VETOES NEEDLES BILL; Says legislation will worsen heroin crisis by loosening drug paraphernalia laws 12-21-2005 ; HEALEY KICKS OFF STUDENT DRUG TESTING PROGRAM IN NEW BEDFORD Also see Gangs People should have to pass drug test to get government assistance. Reasons to agree I have to pass a drug test to work. I hate work. I wish I could get money for doing nothing. If I have to pass a drug test, to have the honor of working, people should have to pass a drug test, if they want free money. Like a lot of folks in this state I have a job. I work, the...