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Investigate the Colorado Judicial Branch
If members of the public are to accept the legitimacy of the court system, they must have trust in the personal character of its officers and the culture of its offices. But in Colorado, the integrity of the judicial branch is in doubt.
RTD betrayed taxpayers on FasTracks
FasTracks could be the most egregious example of taxpayer betrayal in modern Colorado history. The story of that betrayal is stark: A taxing authority said it would do something, voters entrusted it with their money to do that thing, and then the authority didn’t do the thing it said it would do. There are reams […]
Private prison phase-out is welcome. Now do it for immigration.
Less than a week into his term, Biden issued an executive order that will phase out Department of Justice contracts with private firms that operate criminal detention facilities. It was a welcome move. But an incomplete one.
The most important speech of Boebert’s life, annotated
At about 1:55 p.m. on Jan. 6, the freshman representative from Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District, Lauren Boebert, stepped to the microphone on the floor of the U.S. House. It was her third full day as a congresswoman, and it was her first floor speech. The speech is certain to endure as one of the key […]
Check Trumpists now or invite a war later
Americans should treat the storming of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 as a warlike attack. The event didn’t exhibit all the traditional elements of war. But it was coordinated, directed by a commander-in-chief, targeted a central institution of state authority, employed arms, and resulted in casualties. And, as in war, were it to go […]
Is the COVID dial dead?
When Colorado public health officials introduced a “dial” system to determine what level of COVID restrictions should apply in individual counties, it was all about data, local conditions and, most importantly, beating the pandemic. Not anymore. Now it’s about restriction avoidance, statewide perspective and walking “a difficult line between the public health crisis and the […]
Insurrection at Capitol followed lies in Congress
The U.S. Capitol on Wednesday was the site of an insurrection. A violent pro-Trump mob stormed this temple of democracy, overran security, battled law enforcement officers and occupied the House and Senate chambers. A woman was shot dead. Moments before attackers stormed the building, Republican gun enthusiast and freshman Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert gave her […]
What 2020 taught us about being close to other human beings
A friend recently said something that convinced me that 2020, despite how morbid the whole affair was, will leave us with an invaluable lesson. He’s a journalist, someone who has covered murders and medical fraud and the kinds of stories that select for unsentimental types and inevitably reinforce a person’s innate cynicism. We were talking […]
Conspiracy theories corrupt a Colorado committee
Colorado has one of the most reliable election systems in the country. Democrats and Republicans alike once lauded the exceptional security and ease of voting in the state. Then came 2020. Since Joe Biden beat President Donald Trump fairly in a landslide, a growing and increasingly emboldened faction of the Republican Party has joined Trump […]
Subversive acts must come with a cost
If a foreign adversary undermined an American election and through deceit and disinformation attempted to overturn the results in favor of the losing candidate, patriots would treat such activity as warlike hostilities. An adversary is, in fact, undermining the Nov. 3 election. But it is not foreign — it is a sizable and increasingly emboldened […]
Polis let himself be bullied on vaccination for inmates
Gov. Jared Polis let himself be bullied by George Brauchler. And the result is that Colorado’s coronavirus vaccination plan could be compromised. Brauchler, the outgoing attorney for the 18th Judicial District and one-time candidate for governor, published an op-ed in The Denver Post on Sunday that falsely accused the Polis administration of wanting “to prioritize […]
Maskless lawmakers risk people’s lives in the People’s House
The Colorado Legislature convened an extraordinary session Monday to enact relief for desperate families and businesses facing pandemic-related disaster. If Coloradans hoped the gravity of this once-in-a-century crisis would inspire their elected representatives to approach their duties with solemn thoughtfulness, they expected too much from Republican office-holders. Many members of the GOP caucus did not […]