Volume IV Section A
CommonSenseNewsUSA.com
By: Alexander Daube If you asked average Americans if they were living under Constitutional government, most would say yes. After all, our legislators all claim to obey the U.S. Constitution, and we have a Supreme Court which is supposed to uphold it. But to really answer the question, the term must first be defined. What is Constitutional government? The answer, in short, is “government which obeys the Constitution.” But how can we know if government IS obeying it? That's the million dollar question, and many tricks, evasions, half-truths, and lies have been used to obscure the answer. So let's peel through it all to find the truth. To begin, the U.S. Constitution created the federal government. It is the covenant between We The People and our government, and is the supreme law of the land --standing above the president, congress, and the supreme court. They must bow to it --- not it to them. To help insure that they do, the president and all members of congress are required to take an oath --- an oath of office --- to support the Constitution. As the supreme law of the land, all federal laws must conform to it.
Apr. 2014
NOAH: A REVIEW
SHOOTING AT SCHOOL
PREJUDICIAL MISCONCEPTIONS Q: What form of government does the Constitution establish? Our Founding Fathers feared an all-powerful central government, so they gave us a Constitution which severely limited its power in order to protect us. It establishes a limited federal government, with few powers delegated (given) to it. These powers are specified in Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution, and in the Amendments.
THE MISSING LINK IN AMERICAN EDUCATION
Continued on A-4
IF IT SAVES JUST ONE LIFE
By: Dr Harley Ihm
What is happening to our view, the Christian religion is the the rights and privileges of a free morality, our ethical norms and most important and one of the first people” (Dr. Richard G. Lee, p. 628). our values? Could it be that this things in which all children, under It is amazing today to see the transformation is taking place within a free government ought to be number of universities that were the American educational system? I instructed…No truth is more evident started as religious institutions, want to share this article from the to my mind than that the Christian schools with excellent divinity American Patriot’s Bible. I found it religion must be the basis of any programs, which have now become to be enlightening and helpful in government intended to secure almost anti-Christian. There is an understanding the polar attack on Christianity. shift that has taken place Freedom of speech not always apply in America. "In 1836, Noah Webster, often called does In 1836, Noah Webster, if your worldview is the “Father of American Education,” based upon a strong often called the “Father of American Education,” expressed the purpose of schools was belief in Christianity expressed the purpose with the Scriptures meant for the advancement of the being our source of of schools was meant for the advancement of the ultimate truth. In the Christian faith" Christian faith: “In my post-modern age in
WHEN FOXES CONTROL THE HEN HOUSE . . .
Continued on A-7
By: Pat Francomano
pounce. There is another kind of fox, a political fox. Political foxes share the fox‘s wily characteristics, but there is one big difference. Political foxes are more patient and are less likely to pounce. They are more inclined to take ground an inch Foxes are sly and stealthy hunters. They often hide their at a time, sort of like Fabian objectives, trying to mislead Socialism. But they are sly, and their prey, in order not to alert it. they are stealthy. Not wanting to alert the citizens But when the time is right they
A CASE FOR GOOD TASTE
to their real agenda, political foxes tell just enough truth to mislead, and to leave a false impression. Political foxes often work themselves into important, strategic positions in society, taking advantage of opportunities to advance their schemes. They can be found in the highest offices of government. They are not hard to recognize, if we listen to what they say, and pay attention to what they do. Because he holds the highest political office in America, Continued on A-9
DYNAMIC PROBLEM SOLVING
6 WAYS TO SHARE YOUTH ARCHERY
Monthly Writing contest See Back Page of Section B
A-2 | Common Sense News | April 2014
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR From the Editor, Well you may notice some changes to Common Sense News. Craig and I have been tweaking the look and layout of the paper to be well… a paper with a conservative viewpoint. On my long drive to work I realized that we needed to fully define what we are and “own it.” SO Common Sense News is a newspaper for Colorado conservatives. Our main goal is to unify all conservatives in order to move forward in the election season. We want to have lively discussions and have CSN be an open forum of communication. March was a month of change and much of it positive. Lana decided to follow another path and I am so glad for her. (see her note on the bottom of this page) She is a terrific lady and I wish her the best. We have had so much fun building CSN together but it is time for her to pursue her other interests. My company New Legend Press is publishing Common Sense News now and I am looking for new writers to add to the great bunch we already have. I feel strongly about encouraging new writers and want to have our young conservatives have a voice, as well.
EMAIL EDITOR@COMMONSENSENEWSUSA.COM
on the back cover of section B. If your business would like to also sponsor this monthly contest we will be happy to add you to the list of sponsors and make the prizes even better. I am optimistic for conservatives in this state. We are all working hard to choose candidates who will best represent conservative values and principles. There is a lot of discussion among conservatives and even a rift of sorts between Common Sense News seeks to do our part to engage conservatives to work together on the issues in Colorado. I welcome the discussion between conservatives and hope to bring dialogue Among our new columnists is a gal I want to introduce you to Jill Davis, who is a life and business coach who is one of the most positive women I know. Please send your questions to her and she will be able to assist you in a motivational and forward moving way to improve your business. (See page A-4 for details) The Colorado GOP Assembly is this month and Common Sense News is this month. Check our events on page B-6 to join some of the great groups listed. If you want your event listed please contact us.
Common Sense News is launching a monthly writing contest (details on back page of section B) with two divisions: Junior High/High School and adults 18 and above. Submission guidelines are
I hope you enjoy the changes we have made and the support you have shown us.
Friends, So many exciting things have been happening and I wanted to touch base with all of you. In my elected positions as the Colorado State Party Republican Party Secretary, Vice-Chair of Senate District 10, Secretary of HD16 and VicePresident of Honor Flight of Southern Colorado, I realized that something just had to give! Now, with the start of the Business Chamber of Southern Colorado and my position as the VP of Business Development, I was not giving enough time and energy to what Common Sense News will and can be for the future… My co-founder, Anne Vinnola will be taking Common Sense News to the next level. She has been by my side as our hard-working editor since day one. She works tirelessly to ensure CSN is filled with awesome articles and with amazing writers. I’m staying close by (in the next office, actually) because I am still running Intermountain Media and that takes a ton of my time as well. Email or call anytime at lana@intermountainmediallc.com or 719-287-8890, I’m always available to you. In Freedom-
Lana Fore-Warkocz
Anne Vinnola
Happy Easter Common Sense News, Telephone: 719.429.6417, www.CommonSenseNewsUSA.com Published By: New Legend Press Editor-in-Chief: Anne C. Vinnola please email at Editor@commonsensenewsUSA.com Assitant Editor: Tim Burke Art Director: Craig DeLuca
Contributors & Columnists Alexander Daube, Jill Davis, Shawn Mitchell, Don Bendell, Elizabeth Blackwood, Mat Arnold, Tim Burke, Douglas Bruce, Meghan Cox Gordon, Richard Bratten, Aslin Scott, Mia Anstine, Timothy C. Dietz, Esq., Pat Francomano, Norman L. Kincaide, PhD., Shawn Mitchelll, Lyall Russell, Al Maurer, Dr. Harley Ihm, Dan Kidder, Anne Boswell Taylor, Cindy Lyons Copyright©2014 Common Sense News. All rights reserved. Common Sense News is distributed at over 1500 locations throughout Colorado. Limit one copy per person. The paper is for reading purposes only. Re-publication and/or reproduction in whole or in part is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of the publisher. Common Sense News makes every effort to ensure accuracy in editorial content and advertising however Common Sense News and any of its board members or staff accept no responsibility or liability for inaccurate information provided by the advertisers or from editorial submissions.
About Our Content: Common Sense News provides a voice for freedom-loving Americans who share many common values, yet have differing opinions on certain subjects. This publications’ staff and writers possess diverse worldviews. The content of Common Sense News does not necessarily reflect the views of the employees of New Legend Press.
April 2014 | Common Sense News | A-3
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Open Letter to Editor Dear Rep. Lamborn, I am writing to request that you, as a majority member, convene, as soon as possible, a field hearing by the Public Lands and Environmental Regulations subcommittee here in Colorado Springs to discuss the fate of a prized part of the Pike National Forest. As one of your constituents in the 5th Congressional District, I have been shut out as a recreationist in the Bear Creek basin of the Pike National Forest. I believe this has been an arbitrary decision by the Forest Service to exclude motorized recreationists like me from an area that has traditionally hosted outdoor enthusiasts of all stripes for at least the past 60 years. As you know, the ostensible reason for this closure has been occasioned by a lawsuit brought by an outside group known as the Center for Biological Diversity. Rather than honestly challenge the specious argument put forward by CBD to “protect” the Greenback Cutthroat Trout, the USFS has simply caved to an emotional but unsupportable opinion. It is time to shed a bright light on the actions of the Forest Service and allow testimony from displaced recreationists in and around the Pikes Peak region. I believe if the current situation is allowed to stand, it will set a negative precedent for trails around the state and the nation. The Forest Service is in the process of taking public comment on its three alternatives for the future of the Bear Creek basin, but I believe this process is flawed and fails to take into account the needs of the greater public who may not be aware of this situation. It is also important to note the positive economic impact of OHV recreation in Colorado - $1 billion per year. Won’t you please consider in earnest this request to convene a public hearing by a Congressional subcommittee to hear the genuine concerns and grievances about the Forest Service and this unnecessary closure of public land? I look forward to your response. Sincerely, Jim Bensberg Colorado Springs, CO Open Letter to Editor
that line your re-election campaign pockets. You have not helped women achieve independence through education, you have not helped women grow their small businesses, and you have not improved health care for women. If anything, you have stood in the way of progress. Many women have lost their health insurance, many women have lost their providers, and many women are receiving less than they deserve. Paying more and receiving less isn’t the answer Senator, and it does not help women. I urge women across the State of Colorado to take a stand, do your research, and ask yourself…has Senator Mark Udall done all he can do to help women? The answer is simply no. Senator Mark Udall says one thing in Colorado and does another in Washington D.C. Women deserve better, and Senator Udall’s record on helping women succeed is shameful.
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Senator Udall should apologize to the strong and independent women of this great state who want policy that works toward less government, lower taxes and less regulation. Your policies don’t make sense Senator…As women, we can do better Colorado. Clarice Navarro State Representative www.clarice47.com Please go online to review this letter to the editor in the official article with the links at www.CommonSenseUSA.com.
RE: Colorado Succeeds When Women Succeed - http://www.markudall.senate. gov/?p=blog&id=4104
There is no doubt that “Colorado Succeeds When Women Succeed”, but your statement does not match your actions. This is nothing more than a case of saying one thing in Colorado and doing another in Washington. Senator, with all due respect, your actions don’t align with your rhetoric, and for this woman, it just doesn’t make sense. Senator, you have pushed an agenda of higher taxes, poor healthcare, massive and burdensome regulations, and you have honored nothing but your commitment to the liberal extremists
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A-4 | Common Sense News | April 2014
JUST ASK JILL!
By Jill Davis Q: I am in the middle of a family “feud.” My elderly father has created an uncomfortable dynamic in the family. He calls each of us and seems to want to agitate us and create conflict between the siblings. He tells each of us different “truths” so as to create chaos and then come in to solve it. I have to work really hard not to fall into the chaos. How do I maintain my boundaries while still maintain a relationship with everyone? A: It sounds like you are already in a healthy place. By just being aware that there is a problem means you are very aware of how important boundaries are. Boundaries in communication will help you as you deal with this difficult situation. It’s not enough to just not go to a family gathering – it is more effective to share with your father the reason you have chosen not to go. If he is a controlling person, it is truly possible that he is not aware of the conflict he
is creating. He may also see it as a way to keep himself in each of his children’s lives as he sees the end of his life more clearly. If he is indeed a controlling person, he most likely thinks that everyone else feels the same way he does. He most likely does not even consider that your feelings may be different. I would encourage you to articulate your boundaries to your siblings. Let them know you will not discuss the issues created by your father with them as it only serves to create a breach in your relationship with them. When you communicate your boundaries vocally and then enforce them through actions, you are well on your way to improving your ability to deal with a very difficult situation.
Jill Davis is a Life and Business coach, Jill works with companies and individuals to facilitate their understanding of behavior styles and improve their profitability by increasing sales revenue. She is certified as a Mastery Coach with Dan Miller of 48 Days, as well as through Coach Training Alliance. Real Communication with Real Results is the foundation of her coaching style. Jill offers workshops, seminars, keynote speaking, and one-to-one coaching to help facilitate the increased quality of relationships and communication for you both personally and professionally.
DO YOU HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT COMMUNICATION AND RELATIONSHIPS? PLEASE SEND JILL YOUR QUESTIONS AT ASKJILLDAVIS@GMAIL.COM
For more information about controlling people, check out the book Controlling People by Patty Evans. It may help you understand how he can be unaware of what he is doing.
CONSTITUTIONAL GOVERNMENT – DO WE HAVE IT? All powers not given to the federal government are reserved to the states and the people, and the 9th and 10th Amendments were added to make that critical fact very clear. When the government makes any law which is outside of its delegated powers, it is usurping power and violating the Constitution. Such laws are illegal, although the concept of illegal laws can be a brain twister. Of the many quotes which could be used to establish this understanding of the U.S. Constitution as correct, here are three: “The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal government are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the State governments are numerous and indefinite.” – James Madison, aptly called the Father of the Constitution. "Whenever the General Government assumes undelegated powers, its acts are unauthoritative, void, and of no force." – Thomas Jefferson "All laws which are repugnant to the Constitution, are null and void."
-- Chief Justice Marshall, U.S. Supreme Court, Marbury v. Madison Q: What's the situation today? Today we have exactly what our Founding Fathers feared: a federal government which has broken out of its Constitutional cage, and is growing without limit in power and control over our lives. Some examples of illegal agencies and laws which the corruptocrats in Washington, DC have foisted upon us are: Dept. of Education, NEA, EPA, FDA, DEA, DOE, ATF, HUD, NLRB, OSHA, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, War on Drugs, crime laws, gun control laws, and the latest atrocity --- Obamacare. It's been estimated that perhaps half of all federal laws and agencies, as well as half of all federal spending, is unconstitutional. Q: How did they get away with that? The power-mongers in government don't want their power limited, and so they came up with some clever methods to evade Constitutional intent: the “commerce clause,” the “general welfare clause,” the “necessary and proper clause,” and
"...Washington, DC have foisted upon us are: Dept. of Education, NEA, EPA, FDA, DEA, DOE, ATF, HUD, NLRB, OSHA, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, War on Drugs, crime laws, gun control laws, and the latest atrocity --- Obamacare. " the idea that the Constitution is a “living document.” None of these justify the wholesale abandonment of Constitutional limits which we have today, but they're sufficient to confuse enough people to get away with it. What we have is essentially an endrun around the Constitution, without the knowledge of most Americans. And having a complicit media - which rarely questions the usurpation of power – has been very helpful to the federal power-grabbers. What we need is a return to “original
Continued from A-1
intent,” which means that congress, the president, and the supreme court must obey the original intent of the Constitution and the men who created it. Unfortunately, that is the last thing our lawless lawmakers want to do. What we are living under today is not Constitutional government, but a sham; a shadow, a hollowedout shell of what was once our legal government. It could quite accurately be called a federal regime, ruled by power-hungry politicians from both major parties who ignore and subvert the Constitution with almost every vote. Q: What's the solution? A grassroots awakening of the American people is needed to take our country back. So... Wake Up America! Fight for your rights! Alexander Daube is an Area Coordinator for the Fully Informed Jury Association, a group dedicated to bringing the truth about jury rights to the American public. His articles have been published in the Gazette and on various websites. He lives in Colorado Springs with his wife, Julie, who is a writer for the Christian & Missionary Alliance.
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April 2014 | Common Sense News | A-5
NOAH: GOOD THING JEWS AND CHRISTIANS DON’T RIOT FOR STUPID INSULTS. By: Shawn Mitchell
Noah is an absurd act of intellectual dishonesty and creedal theft. It's a middling sci-fi fantasy with a typically commanding performance by Russell Crowe in the title role. If the movie didn’t hijack a sacred story from Jews' and Christians' sacred book, I wouldn't hate it. The problem isn’t just that Noah departs from the biblical story in about the same way the ship Titanic departed from South Hampton Port. The Santa Claus account of Christmas is closer to Luke, chapter 2, than Noah is to Genesis. The real offense is that Noah is a body switch that perverts biblical themes while blaring out pagan environmentalism in their place. Is it fair to find that offensive? Yes. Consider the volcanic fury that would erupt from liberals and media if a conservative director (work with me— it’s a fantasy counter factual) made a movie re-imagining the Civil Rights movement. Rosa Parks is a sultry lounge singer with shares in General Motors who only wants to strike a blow against the city bus monopoly in order to promote auto ownership. Martin Luther King is a business provocateur who aims mostly to expand market opportunities for big retailers and corporate America. It’s not just that the details are invented, it’s that they offensively strip away the essence of why the towering figures are admired and beloved by millions. Noah substitutes its atheist, environmentalist, vegan director’s world view and values for the moral themes and theological underpinnings most believers will bring to their viewing. There is nothing recognizably Judeo or Christian about “The Creator” in Noah. Indeed, there’s nothing discernibly theistic about The Creator, either. Rather, Noah is a sort of Earth
Whisperer who receives promptings, maybe from Gaia the earth goddess, or hallucinations from berry tea, or perhaps just nightmares, to purge man’s awful footprint from the Earth. Early in the film, he’s an austere action hero, scolding his son for picking a flower, pummeling and dispatching a band of bad guys who hunt animals for food, and glowering at all around him. Near the movie’s end, he’s so obsessed with saving the earth and killing off humanity, he plots to murder his unborn grandchildren and torches the raft on which his son and pregnant daughter in-law planned to escape his malice. Noah explains his “prophetic” mission thusly: "Paradise will begin again. But this time there will be no humans. The creator has judged us. Mankind must die. But all the good things will remain." If that’s not heresy, nothing is. The Old and New Testaments tell the story of God’s efforts to entice his children to believe, obey, and covenant with Him so he can save them. In the Genesis account, men’s sin was wickedness, violence, and continually evil thoughts, not poor environmentalism. God covenanted to save Noah and his family because of Noah’s obedience. The earth is a school room for refining God’s children. But, in Noah, natural creation is more valuable and beloved than God’s children. The Lord’s intent was not to restore an obedient lineage He could save, but to end humanity so His Eden could serve a better purpose. Man is condemned not because he disobeys the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but because he tramples the statutes of Al Gore, PETA, and the Sierra Club. The heresy that Hollywood passes off as a Bible story! If Jews or Christians
THE NEW CONSERVATIVE REPUBLICAN MEN'S CLUB. We meet every Wednesday night at the Airplane Restaurant 1665 N Newport Rd. Colorado Spring, CO 6:30 PM The club was formed in order to communicate conservative values, create a forum of discussion, and foster partnerships with other conservative groups.
had a twitching fraction of the anger management issues of some the descendants of Esau, then the makers, funders, and cast of this ugly movie would live their days in the same peril as Salman Rushdie. Such a spectacle is averted by the decent demeanor of the believers this movie mocks. The film’s defenders argue all biblical epics necessarily fill in spare accounts with animating details and side stories; there’s a lot in The Ten Commandments or Ben Hur you won’t find in the Bible. Even setting aside the sad-eyed rock angels that look like Optimus Prime’s ugly cousins, the argument is fatuous. Those classic movies added subplots and intrigue separate from, but not inconsistent with, the biblical landscape they occupied. The God and doctrines of the Old and New Testaments, respectively, permeate the stories. The god and imaginings of Darren Aronofsky, however, give us a raving, homicidal patriarch who took his family on an ark, not to save upon the cleansed earth a tribe of believers obedient to God’s commands, but "... Noah is a sort of Earth Whisperer who receives promptings, maybe from Gaia the earth goddess, or hallucinations from berry tea,... "
to appease a vengeful earth spirit by killing off every last human. I think Hollywood should commission David Duke and Fred Phelps to make a movie about the Civil Rights and Gay Rights movement. It would have as much integrity as Noah. I paid admission only to be able to comment knowledgeably. I urge you not to give your money to these culturo-literary vandals. Shawn Mitchell recently completed 14 years of service in the Colorado Legislature, after three terms in the House and two in the Senate. Most recently, Shawn sat on the Senate Business and Health Committees. He maintains a private law practice in the Denver area. Previously, Shawn worked as Special Counsel to the Attorney General, where he was a legal policy advisor to former Colorado Attorney General Gale Norton. Shawn writes a weekly column for Town Hall Finance at TownHall.com. He is the former president of the Colorado Chapter of the Federalist Society, a national organization of scholars, judges, lawyers and law students that promotes legal reform and limited government. Shawn served 3 years on the Rocky Mountain News Board of Editorial Contributors. He writes and speaks often on issues of policy and politics. Shawn received a B.S. magna cum laude from Brigham Young University and graduated from law school at the University of California at Berkeley. Shawn married Yvette Fuller in 1983. They have seven children and are active in their church and schools. His hobbies include rock climbing, hiking, and iPhone photography on frequent walks in local open spaces.
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A-6 | Common Sense News | April 2014
SHOOTING FROM THE HIP: "I'M YER HUCKLEBERRY"
By Don Bendell
One of my favorite movies is writer Kevin Jarre’s 1993 western Tombstone, (Buena Vista) starring Kurt Russell, Val Kilmer, and Sam Elliott. I personally believe Val Kilmer should have gotten an Oscar for his portrayal of Doc Holliday, as long as they would not send him anywhere to do interviews. Great actor, but a space cadet as a man. As much as I loved the film, it illustrated how the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral came about because of Wyatt Earp’s brother Virgil, Tombstone town marshal, outlawing the carrying of guns then trying to enforce it. Like our misled President in Washington, the sentiment is nice, but it was a complete and total violation of every citizen’s 2nd Amendment rights. It was also a violation pf practical, common sense, much like those in today’s halls of power where the cherry blossoms bloom. Tombstone was wild, so the simple solution was to outlaw guns and overlook the fact that those in authority were symbolically emasculating and eviscerating every civic-minded civilized citizen who had a God-given right to protect themselves, their family, and property. This insanity is just a part of the rule of the day in Washington, DC. George Orwell was right but just off by a few decades. There is a scene in Tombstone which reminds me of Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin. In a “too wild,
hands-off saloon and gambling hall.” Billy Bob Thornton plays a cowboy version of Vladimir Putin, bullying everybody in the place and scaring them into submission. Barack Obama in real life, lives out the role of one of those bullied victims cowering behind the piano. In comes Wyatt Earp (Kurt Russell) to play an 1800’s version of Ronald Reagan, facing down and intimidating the bully. He does not demand that Billy Bob “tear down this wall,” but does sissy-slap him enough to draw blood and near-tears, as he grabs him by the ear and sends him out the door with a swift kick in the pants, and an, “All right, Junior. Out you go, and don’t come back” admonition. Most Americans want Barack Obama to do that so badly to Vladimir Putin, but instead he cowers in the corner of the saloon with the other sheep, until a modern day Wyatt Earp shows up. But where is that Wyatt Earp? I see cheap substitutes but more zeroes than heroes in the Republican corral. The only one with the moxie to sissy-slap Putin and put him in his place is Sarah Palin, but she was grievously-wounded in prior shootouts fighting alongside her then saddle-partner aging shootist John McCain whose six-shooters only hold blanks now. Near movie’s end, the red scarfwearing cowboys try to kill the wives of the Earp brothers and finally those with some conscience have “hit their
bottom” with the lack of morality and principle with the leadership of the Cowboys, Wyatt Earp takes the gloves off and becomes a US Marshal and sets out to destroy the Cowboys, now with help and backing, in a unified loyal front, undeterred by dangerous odds. When, will the Republican party start acting like the good guys again? When will the Republican leaders start caring about all people and not just corporate angels and Beltway power brokers? When will we get back to the pioneer determination of involvement, fighting spirit, and a total unquenched thirst for freedom? The world is full of bullies, and we need a Wyatt Earp to leave his or her lap of luxury running a business or other success, and strap on the guns, step forward, and make the statement to America, “I’m your huckleberry. That’s just my game.” And, if we do not unite and back that new hero, we may just as well be wimps hiding behind the piano cowering in fear. Don Bendell is a best-selling author whose style has been likened to Louis L’Amour and Zane Grey, a disabled Green Beret Vietnam veteran, and a 1995 inductee into the International Karate and Kickboxing Hall of Fame. A widower, Don owns the Strongheart Ranch in southern Colorado, named for his number one best-selling western, and is the author of the sequel Blood Feather (BerkleyPenguin, Aug, 2013) with over 3,000,000 copies of his 27 books in print. He has 6 grown children and 11 grand-children.
SHOOTING AT SCHOOL CAN BE A GOOD THING! Thomas Jefferson said: Resistance to tyranny is obedience to God. This week a great group of volunteers and I felt very obedient to God resisting tyranny. At Craver Middle School, in Colorado City, Colorado, our Appleseed team of instructors led 34 middle school students through some Revolutionary War History and Rifle Marksmanship education, culminating in a field trip to River’s Edge Outdoors Rifle Range. Yes, we took REAL, functioning firearms into the school and let the kids handle them, and then on the third day, we took to the range and got in some target practice. I know, you can pick your jaw up
By: Elizabeth Blackwood
off of the floor now. Let me tell you, when the invitation call came from Tim Baird, an instructor at Craver, last fall, it took our Appleseed Project state coordinators, Jim and Kim Heath almost six seconds to say, “Yes, of course we can do a three day rifle and history clinic in your school!” The groundwork was laid for an epic event that has garnered international publicity. A Canadian Blogger picked up the story…. Canada counts as international right? Mr. Baird got this program approved through his Pueblo District 70 Superintendent, parents and his school principal, all real heroes in my opinion. Filling three days with educational Continued on next page
April 2014 | Common Sense News | A-7
THE MISSING LINK IN AMERICAN EDUCATION which we live there is a rejection of the idea of the existence of absolute truth. Truth is becoming increasingly more relative according to one’s circumstances, wants or needs. That sets up our society for an ever growing atmosphere ripe for the division we see playing out daily on the American stage. It is becoming an epidemic. If you look at the amount of persecution and hate crimes around the world, you will discover that more Christians are persecuted for their faith than any other group. One person stated that if the truth is told without a bias, then what we see in this world is a Christophobia, a fear of Christianity. If you doubt this, go to the website of Voice of the Martyrs at http://www.
material took some additional help and we were blessed to have volunteers who drove hundreds of miles to help out. For starters, we had Rick Cowlishaw, a Revolutionary War re-enactor; kindly bring his flintlock muzzleloaders to show the kids. He even shot blanks on the football field! Can you imagine discharging a firearm at school? As a militiaman, he modeled all of the gear a well-equipped volunteer would have brought with them to the fight, including food and bedding --- not so comfy. Ann Macomber trekked down to do an excellent presentation on the flags and symbols of the colonists. From rattlesnakes to liberty bells each symbol was examined. Students then got to make a flag with the symbols that were important to each child. Don’t look now, but some kids even expressed their religious beliefs during this time. Breaking new ground was what this event was all about! After two days of history, hardtack, casting wax bullets, real gun demos and safety lectures, we headed to the range. Rivers Edge Outdoors graciously donated private range time for us, while members of the NRA and Colorado Second Amendment
persecution.com. A Christian minister in Kenya was guarding the church when he was attacked and killed out of hate and intolerance. Or use this link: http://www.prisoneralert.com/ vompw_prisoners.html to learn about the growing number of Christians imprisoned around the world for their Christian faith. It is reported that North Korea’s supreme leader Kim Jong-un has reportedly ordered 33 Christians to be executed for contact with a missionary. The Christians were believed to be working alongside South Korean missionary Kim Jungwook, who was arrested last year. He and his ministry workers in North Korea have reportedly started 500 or so underground churches, the Washington Times reports. The
Association also drove down to help with range safety and coordinating the shoot. We are grateful to those who donated time, ammunition and rifles so that this event could take place. We also want to thank KRDO and KKTV for covering this story and helping us spread the word.
"Our goal is to teach to current generations the sacrifice our founders made... " Continued on page A-11
missionary aides will be put to death in the cell of the State Security Department. North Korea is widely known for its human rights abuses and zero tolerance for religion. For the 12th consecutive year, World Watch List has ranked it as the number one country for Christian persecution (Kelly Givens, Editor, Salem Web Network, Monday, March 10, 2014). You might be thinking, “This man is rambling. He started out with Noah Webster in America and now he is speaking about Africa and North Korea. What is his point? The point is that our worldview begins to be formed at a very early age. Our values, our morals, our ethics, all that makes us who we are, the lens through which we make our choices in life are formed in those early years of our education. If postmodernism is the dominant teaching, that there are no moral absolutes, no such thing as absolute truth, then the next step is discovering that we can easily justify traveling down the roads of Nazi Germany, North Korea, or joining the forces that are currently practicing genocide around the world. Noah Webster, alongside the framers of our constitution understood their Creator’s love for us. I believe Webster, were he alive today, would quote this passage from Scripture, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your
Continued from A-1 strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” (New International Version Bible, Deuteronomy 6:4-7). Obviously, many people in leadership today must be wiser than Noah Webster and our founding fathers that created this great land. Many see no need for the moral and ethical fabric of the absolute truth of Scripture. If that is the dominant belief then man has no choice but to fall into decline and decay. Each one of us has a responsibility to see that does not happen to our America. Do we need more Christian schools or do we need more Christian teaching in the home? I leave you with that question to ponders. Dr. Harley Ihm lives with his wife Dr. Dana Ihm, in Pueblo, Colorado, where he is a writer, teacher, preacher and communicator. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Missouri, a master’s degree in New Testament Exegesis and Preaching from Johnson University, Knoxville, Tennessee, a Doctor of Biblical Studies from Master’s International University in Evansville, Indiana and a Doctor of Theology from Master’s Theological Research Institute in Evansville, Indiana. Dr. Ihm teaches Bible and Worldview classes for Colorado Christian University and is the Senior Minister of Central Christian Church in Colorado Springs. Growing up in rural Missouri, he is a firm believer in the conservative lifestyle that brought our forefathers to this country in search of true freedom.
A-8 | Common Sense News | April 2014
SCHOOL CHOICE BACK ON THE DOCKET? By Matt Arnold
The Colorado Supreme Court announced on St. Patrick’s Day that it granted a petition for writ of certiorari (request to review an appeal) on the constitutionality of the Douglas County School Choice program. The court's long-expected decision to grant the review, comes just over one year after an appellate court ruling that upheld the constitutionality of the Douglas County "Choice Scholarship Program" (Colorado Court of Appeals Nos. 11CA1856 & 11CA1857, “Taxpayers for Public Education v. Douglas County Board of Education”), had reversed a lower court ruling that had blocked implementation of the program in August 2011. The legal battle over the constitutionality of the Douglas County "Choice Scholarship Program"
to attend the private or charter school of their choice, has gained national attention as the "ground zero" in the fight for school choice across the country. Opponents of the school choice program (including the ACLU, Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, and a variety of front groups and individuals affiliated with local, state, and national teacher's union and other special-interest groups) have argued that the school choice voucher program violated the state school finance act and provisions of the Colorado Constitution prohibiting "aid to or support of religion and religious organizations" with taxpayer funds. However, the appellate court resoundingly rejected those
which allows K-12 students who reside in the Douglas County School District and have been enrolled in a Douglas County public school for at least one year to apply for a Choice Scholarship
arguments, relying not only on the clear language of the Colorado Constitution, but also upon relevant Supreme Court of the United States precedent in a similar case (Zelman v.
Simmons-Harris, 2002). The Appeals Court ruling stated that since the Choice Scholarship Program “is intended to benefit students and their parents, and any benefit to the participating schools is incidental…” “Such a remote and incidental benefit does not constitute . . . aid
to the institution itself within the meaning of Article IX, Section 7.” Zelman, 536 U.S. at 652 The court noted that “CSP is neutral toward religion, and funds make their way to private schools with religious affiliation by means of personal choices of students’ parents.” As noted by Douglas County School District Board of Education Director Craig Richardson, The Colorado Supreme Court’s decision to review the Court of Appeals decision in favor of DCSD “does not mean that the court disagrees with the Court of Appeals ruling,” Richardson said. “It simply means that the court recognizes the importance of the case for our state and our country,” Richardson said. (Colorado Supreme Court to Review Judicial Ruling that DCSD Scholarship Program is Constitutional, Colorado Observer, 17 March 2014) Analysis:
Plaintiffs have until April 28th to file opening briefs in the appeal; respondents then have a month to file a response, after which plaintiffs have another month to reply. Once all briefs and responses have been filed, the Colorado Supreme Court will set a date to hear oral arguments by both sides (so, it will be late Summer at the earliest, more likely early-tomid Fall, before the case is presented to the court) and a ruling is unlikely to be issued until several weeks, even months, after that. Based on the body of evidence presented in the trial court and appellate court arguments, the comprehensiveness and clarity of the analysis of constitutional and statutory issues in the appellate court ruling, and guiding Supreme Court precedent (Zelman) in a similar case, the new & improved (minus Mullarkey, Martinez, and Bender) Colorado Supreme Court is unlikely to reverse the substance of theColorado Court of Appeals ruling (some technical issues, such as standing to bring the lawsuit, are subject to review as well). Unfortunately, the implementation of a highly popular (and innovative) program to extend school choice in the 3rd-largest school district in the state, establishing a precedent for expanded educational opportunity for children across Colorado and nationwide, will have been delayed for several years, and at a significant cost. Bottom Line: The Douglas County School Choice case not only may set a decisive precedent on parental choice in educating their children, it also touches upon important constitutional issues such the separation of powers between branches and levels of government, establishment of religion, and collection and allocation of tax dollars, but ultimately comes down to a very basic and fundamental issue: who decides how to educate Colorado’s children? Matt is one of only two people in Colorado history (the other, Mike Coffman as state treasurer, had lots of legal help) to actually win a judgment and collect money from “Colorado Ethics Watch” – the Left’s premier practitioner of “lawfare” in Colorado. Most recently, Matt succeeded in becoming the FIRST and ONLY plaintiff in Colorado history to prosecute an enforceable judgment in a campaign finance case. Learn more about how Campaign Integrity Watchdog can help win the fight against Leftist Lawfare at www. campaignintegritywatchdog.org or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ CampaignIntegrityWatchdogColorado
April 2014 | Common Sense News | A-9
WHEN FOXES CONTROL THE HEN HOUSE BAD THINGS HAPPEN around Congress to implement slow-motion cap and trade. This policy cost many middle-class jobs. Yet it made adherents of the religion of environmentalism happy. • Hillary Clinton, Former Secretary of State: Clinton left the highest foreign policy position in America under the cloud of the Benghazi cover-up. “What difference does it make?” she screamed in feigned anger. And even now, the “most transparent administration in history” still hasn’t admitted what really happened in Benghazi. • Janet Napolitano, Former Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security: Under Napolitano, DHS issued a report which warned law enforcement across the country about rightwing extremism. Likely suspects of rightwing extremism include gun owners, pro-lifers, those concerned about outof-control government, and those who favor border control first, before amnesty. In other words, those who are probably conservatives. Does this make the country safer from extreme terrorists? • Eric Holder, Attorney General of the United States: Holder was held in contempt by Congress because he stonewalled and failed to hand over documents important to the investigation into the Fast and Furious operation of smuggling guns to Mexico’s drug cartel, including the gun used to kill US Border Patrol agent Brian Terry. Obama came to Holder’s rescue claiming executive privilege, permitting him to not hand over possibly, and probably, incriminating documents. The top law enforcement officer in the land defies the rule of law.
President Obama is the Political Fox-in-Chief. He says things that actually identify real problems. He says what people want to hear. He sounds as though he understands the problems and wants to fix them. He talks about fair share, fair shake, middle-class, more jobs, less debt, and so on. He makes promises he knows are unkeepable. He tells us just enough truth to mislead and to leave us with a false impression. He’s very sly. And he lies so easily! Then he goes forward with his real agenda, which is the socialistic redistribution of wealth in the name of social justice. Yet what his policies actually do are all the wrong things to fix the very problems he led us to believe he wanted to fix. Obamacare is the quintessential example. Obama has appointed to high office other political foxes, who are virtual political clones of himself. Here are some examples of Obama’s administrative appointments: • Lisa P. Jackson, Former EPA Administrator: Jackson, We see then that when political an environmentalist political foxes control government, bad fox, ruled carbon dioxide to be things happen. a dangerous pollutant, going So bad, in fact, that it is difficult
to convey the significance of this moment in American history. It amounts to an assault on America from within, and it is widespread and unprecedented. It is time to stop this blatant abuse of power by those within our own government. And to do that, short of revolution, short of violence, the fervor that brought the Tea Party into existence must continue, and that fervor must grow throughout the country. We can beat back the lies of political foxes. We must stay the course we are on, and persistently put forth the truth about what made America great: the unalienable rights to life, liberty, and property;
Continued from A-1
that it is the government’s duty to protect these rights, not squelch them. We must continue calling for the restoration and preservation of America’s founding principles, which intentionally led to a constitutionally limited government and individual liberty. These we must do peacefully, while peaceful is still an option. But we must not stop.
Pat Francomano is a freelance writer living in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He is a retired software engineer and holds a master’s degree in mathematics. His writing interests are in political, economic and social areas as they affect individual liberties.
A-10 | Common Sense News | April 2014
WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO THE LOST PARK BUFFALO? By: Anne Vinnola
Mystery and legend surrounds the last days of the Lost Park Mountain Buffalo herd. These graceful beasts roamed beautiful green mountain valleys for many years and were a proud species that residents cherished and hunters prized. The Lost Park Buffalo ranged in the Tarryall Mountains of Colorado and were driven to extinction early in the
Creek mining areas because their number was dwindling. The small herd was driven from that area toward Florissant and Lost Park during the gold rush in approximately 1884 by hungry miners and trophy hunters. These were some of the last of the mountain buffalo and wildlife conservation was in its infancy; at the same time the large American bison were also being
attempted to sell the hides of the animals by advertizing them in a 1901 Outdoor Life Magazine, the editor of the magazine alerted Game Warden Harris who found the hides in Buena Vista, Colorado in the basement at the home of Charles Bartlett. An arrest was made and a subsequent trial held where the judge dismissed the case due to a technicality in the law, to the dismay of the warden and the rest of the prosecution team. An auction in 1901 awarded the bison hides to Mr. Peter Mulock who paid $1085.00 for the four hides and then sent them to taxidermist Mr J.C. Miles of 1742 Broadway in Denver, Colorado for mounting. Not much is known of the buffalo for the next 28 years, but when the Canon City Municipal building was built in 1928, famed big game hunter and conservationist Dall DeWeese donated his extensive animal collection to the second story of the building for a The Lost Park Buffalo Herd as they appeared in front of the Taxidermy studio of J.C. Miles at 1742 museum and began negotiations with Broadway in Denver circa 1901 Mr. Mulock to acquire the buffalo. twentieth century by poachers. hunted to near extinction. They were installed into the museum A smaller species, a fully grown In the early spring of 1897 a party with donations provided by the male could weigh approximately 750 of hunters set out in the snow and residents of Canon City. pounds compared to the American killed four of the Lost Park mountain A grand mural featuring the Plains buffalo that could weigh up to buffalo; an older bull, young bull, surrounding mountains of the region 2000 pounds, the Lost Park buffalo cow and calf. The Bartlett brothers was painted as a backdrop by world were also lighter in color than their who were taxidermists, procured the renowned artist Robert Wesley Amick larger counterparts. Historically the animals and hid them away until 1901, who was in residence in Canon City at Lost Park buffalo were not called determined to mount them and sell the time. bison. them for a large profit. Something Fast forward the history of these In 1882 a herd of about 25 were changed their minds (probably fear of remarkable buffalo to 2010. The Canon closely watched by residents and prosecution) and they decided not to City Municipal Building is now called ranchers in the Victor and Cripple mount them personally. When they the Royal Gorge Regional Museum and History Center and the buffalo are in a severely deteriorated state from years of display and swamp cooler exposure. The staff and museum supporters in the community hosted several fund raising events including a special buffalo steak dinner at a local restaurant to fund the much needed restorations. The Fremont/Custer Historical Society donated a large amount to the project and a large donation from Robert Wesley Amick art collector Roy Coffey of Texas was secured because of the connection to the artist. Wildlife artist and taxidermy historian Jerry Vinnola, of Big Timber The Lost Park herd as they appeared after being installed in the newly built museum circa Taxidermy Studio and The Colorado 1928. In the background is the beautiful mural painted by world renowned artist Robert Wesley Institute of Taxidermy Inc. was Amick. approached by then Royal Gorge Regional Museum and History Center’s curator Cliff Hight to see if he would be interested in restoring the buffalo. Jerry has restored many historical pieces including a magnificent kudu shot by Theodore Roosevelt for a private collector. He began stocking buffalo parts to prepare for the job. After carefully taking stock of the extensive damage, Jerry decided to give the restoration his very capable attention in January 2010. He gave an estimate for completion but cautioned there was no way to know the true extent of the project until he actually got into the repairs. When Jerry began he started with PROUDLY SERVING OUR CUSTOMERS SINCE 1985! the calf because it had the most damage and would take the most time. A HOUSE OF FLAGS FLAG & FLAGPOLE COMPANY • 5556 S. SYCAMORE ST. LITTLETON, CO Sad and seemingly hopeless, the little www.AHOUSEOFFLAGS.com calf was cracked in numerous places,
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missing its ears with much of its face peeling off. The legs were split and underneath the hide the plaster and the paper mache’ cracked and turned to powder.
Baby buffalo before restoration
Painstakingly, Jerry worked inch by inch on the little buffalo finding surprises from previous repair attempts such as badger, mink, coyote and horse hair used. In several places the buffalo were shaved by the previous taxidermist in order to move the hair to thin areas, resulting in a mottled, mangy appearance. They were dyed black in many places contrary to their natural color, perhaps either to help hide imperfections or due to ignorance of their true color.
Jerry Vinnola working on the buffalo calf.
One of the problems of the restoration was the fact that this is an extinct species and it is important to keep as much of the original mount intact. It took hours and hours to chip off the old glue and try to preserve the hair without breaking it off. He then used buffalo hair to patch the hides cutting it to size. He even cleverly recreated the ears and eyelashes of the baby. The Lost Park Buffalo herd looks wonderful today and the Royal Gorge Regional Museum and History Center once again has a grand showpiece for the residents of Canon City, Colorado to proudly show to the world. Make plans this summer to visit Canon City and see what became of the last Lost Park buffalo. The Royal Gorge Regional Museum and history Center is located at 612 Royal Gorge Boulevard in Canon City, Colorado Phone 719-269-9036 and Jerry Vinnola can be reached at the Colorado Institute of Taxidermy Training Inc. located at 708 Royal Gorge Boulevard, Canon City 719276-3187 Restored baby buffalo
April 2014 | Common Sense News | A-11
PREJUDICIAL MISCONCEPTIONS We have been taught that being prejudice is bad. Pre-judging someone based upon the color of their skin, or any other personal characteristic, without knowing them, is wrong. Right? Of course, making blanket judgments about a group of people says more about you than it does about them, but being prejudice is natural. It is how we decide who our friends are; who we listen to; what school to attend; what neighborhood to live in. We use our prejudice to define ourselves. Anyone who tells you that they're not prejudice is lying. It is not the act of judging that is wrong. We will, however, be judged
"The left works hard to divide conservatives by creating prejudice." by our judgments. There is no shortage of prejudice in politics. Affecting how the masses perceive candidates, issues, and political parties is campaign strategy. Nobody knows this more than the Liberal Mainstream Media. If a politician is caught in an unfavorable light, he will be named if he is a Democrat. He AND HIS PARTY will be named if he is a Republican. Using this, and many other subliminal techniques, the left works hard to divide conservatives by creating prejudice. It is brainwashing and it will not work if we recognize it, then choose to ignore it. Conservatism is a good idea. It is so good, in fact, that it attracts all kinds of people with different agendas, and with all sorts of prejudice. The Tea Party Patriots Movement, for example, is a conservative grassroots organization dedicated to the principles of personal and economic freedom. They stand for every American who wants to pursue the “American Dream.” They believe in the United States Constitution, and the principles this country was founded upon. The movement is growing so quickly that liberals feel threatened ---
SHOOTING AT SCHOOL CAN BE A GOOD THING! Continued from page A-7
So Appleseed you say, what is that? The Appleseed Project is a 501c3 organization dedicated to telling the stories of April 19, 1775, Paul Revere, Lexington and Concord and teaching rifle marksmanship skills. Our goal is to teach to current generations the sacrifice our founders made for their posterity – us. Generally, we host two day rifle and history clinics all over the country, spreading the real stories of the people and events which launched us on our way to independence. For those who want the history portion only, our instructors are available to teach just that for any group. One goal of Appleseed is to see programs like this in schools across the country. I think we demonstrated that gun safety and history can be taught in schools with everyone winning in the end! So take notice and be our “Paul Revere.” Let your local school know Appleseed, and so many other great organizations, are here to teach. For more information on Appleseed, or to attend a shoot or schedule and event, contact us through www. appleseedinfo.org.
By: Tim Burke
as well they should. So, they seek out racists who support the movement and use those people to portray the movement itself as racist. Are there racists in the Tea Party? Of course! Good ideas attract all sorts of people, but the organization is far from racist. There are all kinds of conservatives. If the Republican Party expects to take this country back from Democratic Party control, they will have to be more tolerant of, and celebrate conservatives with whom they disagree. Liberals preach “diversity” in an effort to attract folks who are different. They have been very successful at convincing minorities that democracy empowers them. Nothing could be farther from the
diversity and our common beliefs that make us conservative. We believe in smaller government, personal responsibility, freedom from tyranny, and in our Constitution. We may, or may not like old white guys, but we should swallow our pride, and try to tolerate the ones who believe in the idea of conservatism. Tim Burke, and his wife Rita have owned Burke Promotions, Inc. in Colorado Springs since 1984. They specialize in advertising, marketing, and graphic arts design, and have helped numerous conservative candidates and causes over the years. Natives of Colorado, they met in high school and have been married for 30 years. Tim is a communications and management specialist, website developer, writer, and editor.
"Democracy is 5 wolves and 2 sheep voting on what to have for dinner." truth! Democracy is 5 wolves and 2 sheep voting on what to have for dinner. You seldom hear them mention the fact that Dr. Martin Luther King was a conservative Republican. Our Constitutional Republic was designed to protect minorities. Conservatives need each other, now more than ever! Let us define ourselves by what we are for --- not what we are against. Let us come together and accept each other, celebrate our
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A-12 | Common Sense News | April 2014
BE STILL MY HEART!
By: Anne Boswell Taylor
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There it was sitting there, glistening with a sweet glaze of maple sugar icing. It appeared warm and gooey; the apple fritter is perhaps the most perfect doughnut ever. I snatched up one of those little tissues to grab the last one. It was mine! Where I come from, doughnuts, politics, and corner coffee shops filled with retired Veterans and septuagenarian cattle ranchers go together. Enjoying a doughnut or two or perhaps three was never a bad thing, it was a celebration. To pull up a chair in a local coffee shop and order a sweet southern treat was simply an act of true community. After all, this is where everyone catches up on life over our favorite breakfast treats, doughnuts. As I enjoyed my selection of a cinnamon coated doughnut today from the front seat of my Honda, I earned a few stares and glares. An obviously fitness-minded young mother decked out in her possibly
THE DEATH OF PRIVATE PROPERTY, PART I Everyone says he believes in private property. Property is the original foundation of civilization. In Exodus 20:15, God ordered, “Thou shalt not steal.” Property is the root of the Tree of Life, nurtured by what we call Natural Law. We chant, “A man's home is his castle.” Even eminent scholar, rocker Frank Zappa, opined, “People like to own stuff.” The Founding Fathers, America's divinely- inspired authors, protected property in the Declaration of Independence. Its litany of grievances included many of King George's assaults on property and its nearest kin, privacy. “Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” sounds nobler than “the pursuit of gold.” Happiness meant following one's dreams and ambitions to fulfillment. It was understood that material success and home protection rank high in the human heart, as vital to personal and family life and security. The Constitution enshrined property rights in many places. The Third and Fourth Amendments restrict turning our homes into military barracks and random searches by government. The Fifth Amendment says no person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law. Government cannot take private property for public use without paying just compensation. Many other examples are found in our heritage. Even our tortuous tax laws overly
encourage home ownership, recently to the point of subsidizing and urging home loans to the improvident, spawning the Great Recession. What has happened? Long before the real estate collapse six years ago, government began eroding private property rights. It has promoted a claim that our ownership of real estate is in trust for society, the community, or some other collective. Pusillanimous busybodies demand local government goons control their neighbors' property, even in areas as mundane as mowing grass, painting houses, storing supplies, watering plants in government-defined water shortages, and buying home improvement “permits” (subject to government inspection without a warrant). These whiners prefer servitude to freedom, even if it means slavery for all. The federal government, no longer obeying its Tenth Amendment or any other limits, tells us what kind of light bulb we can use, the size of our toilet, what we can plant, and hundreds of other controls. The Feds also dominate real estate markets, imposing myriad rules on who can buy a home. They extend controls through their agents, the banks, who cravenly submit so they can get federal bank deposit insurance and sell their bad loans to federal home loan guarantors. All such controls are patently unconstitutional. A Denver ordinance fines people
daily ensemble of yoga pants and an expensive looking fitness type top hurried her daughter past my vehicle as if I was selling crack wearing my gray hoodie giving furtive glances. It then dawned on me that in Colorado now it’s more acceptable to smoke pot than eat doughnuts. This attitude has to be the reason Krispy Kreme in Colorado Springs closed. It’s scandalous to indulge oneself in a warm, wonderful doughnut! The doughnut actually has a rich history, pardon the pun, in the United States but we didn’t invent the doughnut. According to fabulous food blogger, Tori Avey, editor and curator of The History Kitchen, the doughnut came to us originally from Ancient Rome and Greece but it was the Pilgrims and Dutch Settlers who brought the scrumptious goody to the United States. They didn’t always have a hole in the middle. It was found that the dough
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By: Douglas Bruce
$999 per day for owning an empty building for more than 90 days. Most cities demand instant removal of trash dumped, graffiti painted, and windows broken. Think about it. You are victimized by strangers, then revictimized by petty tyrants at City Hall, who charge you for their intrusion. In a matter of days, you go from victim to criminal. Bureaucrats impose fines on you and record liens on your property. Do you get a court hearing before they seize your equity? No. The guarantee of due process of law? Gone with the wind. Even a snowfall or a sidewalk crack
is a violation, because they say you possess your home only to serve the public. Property taxes are not limited to property benefits (police, fire, and roads). The majority of that tax money goes to pay union members and school administrators to babysit other people's children. Why is that lion share a perpetual lien on your home? Because, as bank robber Willie Sutton said, “That's where the money is.” Elected demagogues believe in soaking “the rich,” so the true property tax rate on non-residential property is 3.6 times greater than on your home.
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April 2014 | Common Sense News | A-13
NATIONAL HERITAGE AREAS SUBVERT LOCAL SOVEREIGNTY Where do National Heritage Areas (NHAs) fit into the future of the National Park System? More than 50 million Americans now live in NHAs, eventually 300 million Americans will live in them so the Chinese can spend their vacations visiting the human zoo that once was the United States of America. From the National Park System Advisory Board Report, June 2006, are the components for the future of National Heritage Areas. “National Heritage Areas add a new dimension to the National Park Service, providing an opportunity to conserve nationally important living landscapes and cultures.” “National Heritage Areas knit together the whole landscape and provide an integrated approach to conserving the natural, cultural, historic and scenic resources that define sense of place and shared heritage values, and encourage compatible economic growth.” “National Heritage Areas assist the National Park Service in building new constituencies and staying relevant by looking not just to the past or present, but also to the future.” Why does the NPS need to build new constituencies when it can’t even maintain the properties within its stewardship? “The Alliance of National Heritage Areas plays a major role in promoting heritage based partnerships and can assist the National Park Service in extending the Heritage Area approach as a component of the National Park System.” The following recommendations were made concerning NHAs. “First, create a Home for National Heritage Areas in the National Park System. National Heritage Areas contribute to the mission of the National Park Service and need a defined place in the National Park System’s policy framework and budget.” “Second, Commit to National Heritage Areas for the Long-Term. National Heritage Areas are founded on consensus-based planning, local commitments, and a network of longterm partnerships, which require long-term commitment to achieve meaningful progress.”
“Third, Provide for unique legislative authorities. Each National Heritage Area is unique and needs legislative authority specifically tailored to meet the needs of its region and its resources.” “Fourth, Recognize New Opportunities for Resource Stewardship. Emerging and designated National Heritage Areas benefit from the National Park Service’s expertise and provide a stronger vehicle for Congress to effectively utilize the National Park Service to achieve publicly supported conservation and preservation.” This is the same NPS expertise that barricaded the World War II Memorial during the 2013 “government shutdown.” This is the same NPS that can’t even increase visitation to Bent’s Old Fort. Yet Canyons & Plains are going to manage things in Southeastern Colorado with NPS expertise. “Fifth, Support Research on Partnership Networks. The National Heritage Area approach, with its networks of relationships and ability to leverage resources, can serve as a model for achieving National Park Service conservation goals. The process, key elements, outcomes, and impacts need to be identified and better understood.” NHAs span both public and private land with a management plan formed from National Park Service guidelines and approved by the Secretary of the Interior (see Section 4, National Heritage Area System, paragraph d, Duties, subparagraph (2) review and approve or disapprove the management plan for a National Heritage Area as provided in section 7, H.R. 445, National Heritage Area Act of 2013, pending in the January 6, 2014 Session of Congress. National Heritage Area management entities are not evaluated by the residents for whom the area was created, but rather by the Secretary of the Interior, who then reports and makes recommendations concerning the National Park Service’s continuing role with respect to the NHA. The Secretary of the Interior assesses the progress of the local coordinating entity with respect to accomplishing
By: Norman L. Kincaide Ph.D.
the purposes of the authorizing legislation for the NHA and achieving the goals and objectives of the approved management plan for the NHA. The Secretary also identifies critical components for sustainability. Furthermore, the sunset provision is now 25 years per Section 13, H.R. 445, National Heritage Area Act of 2013, pending. Appropriations for the 2013 Act are not more than $700,000.00 for any fiscal year for each NHA. Not more than $750,000.00 for any fiscal year to conduct management plans by the National Park Service in accordance with Section 6, Management Plans, National Heritage Area Act of 2013, pending. This reads like a lot of federal oversight of the local coordinating entity, i.e., management entity, an unelected body, unaccountable to the voters, subversive of local sovereignty and burdensome to locally elected officials. Furthermore, suggested measures of success for National Heritage areas are changes to land use policy decisions, zoning law changes, and design of new construction. One source has posited that no idea has been as hard to conceptualize and reduce to standards, criteria and measures of public benefit as that of national heritage areas. Therefore, as a result of mounting pressures at the federal level to create criteria and guidance that guarantee the economic value and long-term ‘success’ of heritage areas have led the NPS to utilize
concurrent data collection methods to attempt to quantify the physical, social and economic characteristics of existing heritage areas and to create program accountability. In reality there is no accountability within the executive branch of the federal government. The National Park Service is no different with its enablers and surrogates coveting managerial authority over southeastern Colorado. From the example set by the executive branch of the federal government in the recent past and present, nobody is held accountable for stupidity, incompetence, malfeasance, lack of candor, failure to disclose or catastrophic failure of policy. Cherish your private property rights. Cherish your local sovereignty. Cherish your locally elected officials, because they are accountable to you.
Sources Congress of the United States, H.R. 445, 113th Congress, First Session, H.R. 445, In the House of Representatives, February 1, 2013, A Bill to authorize a National Heritage Area Program and for other purposes, currently pending, 113th Congress convened on January 6, 2014. Hoffman, Barbara T. editor, Art and Cultural Heritage, Law, Policy and Practice, New York, Cambridge University Press, 2006. National Park System Advisory Board, Charting a Future for National Heritage Areas, A Report by the National Park System Advisory Board, June 2006. National Park Service, Developing a Research Agenda, A National Heritage Areas W orkshop, December 20, 2002.
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A-14 | Common Sense News | April 2014
THE CASE FOR GOOD TASTE IN CHILDREN’S BOOKS
By: Meghan Cox Gurdon Children’s Book Reviewer, The Wall Street Journal The following is adapted from a speech delivered at Hillsdale College on March 12, 2013, sponsored by the College’s Dow Journalism Program. On June 4, 2011, the number one trending topic on Twitter was the Anthony Weiner scandal. I happen to remember that, because the number two topic on Twitter that day—almost as frenzied, though a lot less humorous—had to do with an outrageous, intolerable attack on Young Adult literature . . . by me. Entitled “Darkness Too Visible,” my article discussed the increasingly dark current that runs through books classified as YA, for Young Adult— books aimed at readers between 12 and 18 years of age—a subset that has, in the four decades since Young Adult became a distinct category in fiction, become increasingly lurid, grotesque, profane, sexual, and ugly. Books show us the world, and in that sense, too many books for adolescents act like funhouse mirrors, reflecting hideously distorted portrayals of life. Those of us who have grown up understand that the teen years can be fraught and turbulent—and for some kids, very unhappy—but at the same time we know that in the arc of human life, these years are brief. Today, too many novels for teenagers are long on the turbulence and short on a sense of perspective. Nor does it help that the narrative style that dominates Young Adult books is the first person present tense— “I, I, I,” and “now, now, now.” Writers use this device to create a feeling of urgency, to show solidarity with the reader and to make the reader feel that he or she is occupying the persona of the narrator. The trouble is that the first person present tense also erects a kind of verbal prison, keeping young readers in the turmoil of the moment just as their hormones tend to do. This narrative style reinforces the blinkers teenagers often seem to be wearing, rather than drawing them out and into the open.
Bringing Judgment The late critic Hilton Kramer was seated once at a dinner next to film
director Woody Allen. Allen asked him if he felt embarrassed when he met people socially whom he’d savaged in print. “No,” Kramer said, “they’re the ones who made the bad art. I just described it.” As the story goes, Allen fell gloomily silent, having once made a film that had received the Kramer treatment. I don’t presume to have a nose as sensitive as Hilton Kramer’s—but I do know that criticism is pointless if it’s only boosterism. To evaluate anything, including children’s books, is to
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engage the faculty of judgment, which requires that great bugbear of the politically correct, “discrimination.” Thus, in responding to my article, YA book writers Judy Blume and Libba Bray charged that I was giving comfort to book-banners, and Publisher’s Weekly warned of a “danger” that my arguments “encourage a culture of fear around YA literature.” But I do not, in fact, wish to ban any books or frighten any authors. What I do wish is that people in the book business would exercise better taste; that adult
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authors would not simply validate every spasm of the teen experience; and that our culture was not marching toward ever-greater explicitness in depictions of sex and violence. Books for children and teenagers are written, packaged, and sold by adults. It follows from this that the emotional depictions they contain come to young people with a kind of adult imprimatur. As a school librarian in Idaho wrote to her colleagues in my defense: “You are naïve if you think young people can read a dark and violent book that sits on the library shelves and not believe that that behavior must be condoned by the adults in their school lives.” What kind of books are we talking about? Let me give you three examples—but with a warning that some of what you’re about to hear is not appropriate for younger listeners. A teenaged boy is kidnapped, drugged, and nearly raped by a male captor. After escaping, he comes across a pair of weird glasses that transport him to a world of almost impossible cruelty. Moments later, he finds himself facing a wall of horrors, “covered with impaled heads and other dripping, black-rot body parts: hands, hearts, feet, ears, penises. Where the f— was this?” That’s from Andrew Smith’s 2010 Young Adult novel, The Marbury Lens. A girl struggles with self-hatred and self-injury. She cuts herself with razors secretly, but her secret gets out when she’s the victim of a sadistic sexual prank. Kids at school jeer at her, calling
April 2014 | Common Sense News | A-15 her “cutterslut.” In response, “she had sliced her arms to ribbons, but the badness remained, staining her insides like cancer. She had gouged her belly until it was a mess of meat and blood, but she still couldn’t breathe.” That’s from Jackie Morse Kessler’s 2011 Young Adult novel, Rage. I won’t read you the most offensive excerpts from my third example, which consist of explicit and obscene descriptions by a 17-year-old female narrator of sexual petting, of oral sex, and of rushing to a bathroom to defecate following a breakup. Yet School Library Journal praised Daria Snadowsky’s 2008 Young Adult novel, Anatomy of a Boyfriend, for dealing “in modern terms with the real issues of discovering sex for the first time.” And Random House, its publisher, gushed about the narrator’s “heartbreakingly honest voice” as she recounts the “exquisite ups and dramatic downs of teenage love and heartbreak.” The book industry, broadly speaking, says: Kids have a right to read whatever they want. And if you follow the argument through it becomes: Adults should not discriminate between good and bad books or stand as gatekeepers, deciding what young people should read. In other words, the faculty of judgment and taste that we apply in every other area of life involving children should somehow vaporize when it comes in contact with the printed word. I appeared on National Public Radio to discuss these issues with the Young Adult book author Lauren Myracle, who has been hailed as a person “on the front lines in the fight for freedom of expression”—as if any controversy over whether a book is appropriate for children turns on the question of the author’s freedom to express herself. Myracle made clear that she doesn’t believe there should be any line between adult literature and literature for young people. In saying this, she was echoing the view that prevails in many progressive, secular circles—that young people should encounter material that jolts them out of their comfort zone; that the world is a tough place; and that there’s no point shielding children from reality. I took the less progressive, less secular view that parents should take a more interventionist approach, steering their children away from books about sex and horror and degradation, and
towards books that make aesthetic and moral claims. Now, although it may seem that our culture is split between Left and Right on the question of permissiveness regarding children’s reading material, in fact there is not so much division on the core issue as might appear. Secular progressives, despite their reaction to my article, have their own list of books they think young people shouldn’t read—for instance, books they claim are tinged with racism or jingoism or that depict traditional gender roles. Regarding the latter, you would not believe the extent to which children’s picture books today go out of the way to show father in an apron and mother tinkering with machinery. It’s pretty funny. But my larger point here is that the self-proclaimed antibook-banners on the Left agree that books influence children and prefer some books to others. Indeed, in the early years of the Cold War, many left-wing creative people in America gravitated toward children’s literature. Philip Nel, a professor at Kansas State University, has written that Red-hunters, “seeing children’s books as a field dominated by women . . . deemed it less important and so did not watch it closely.” Among the authors I am referring to are Theodor Geisel (Dr. Seuss) and Ruth Krauss, author of the 1952 classic A Hole is to Dig, illustrated by a young Maurice Sendak. Krauss was quite open in her belief that children’s literature was an excellent means of putting left-wing ideas into young minds. Or so she hoped. When I was a little girl I read The Cat in the Hat, and I took from it an understanding of the sanctity of private property—it outraged me when the Cat and Thing One and Thing Two rampaged through the children’s house while their mother was away. Dr. Seuss was probably not intending to inculcate capitalist ideas—quite the contrary. But it happened in my case, and the point is instructive.
Taste and Beauty A recent study conducted at Virginia Tech found that college women who read “chick lit”—light novels that deal with the angst of being a modern woman—reported feeling more insecure about themselves and their bodies after reading novels in which the heroines feel insecure about themselves and their bodies. Similarly,
federal researchers were puzzled for years by a seeming paradox when it came to educating children about the dangers of drugs and tobacco. There seemed to be a correlation between anti-drug and anti-tobacco programs in elementary and middle schools and subsequent drug and tobacco use at those schools. It turned out that at the same time children were learning that drugs and tobacco were bad, they were taking in the meta-message that adults expected them to use drugs and tobacco. This is why good taste matters so much when it comes to books for children and young adults. Books tell children what to expect, what life is, what culture is, how we are expected to behave—what the spectrum is. Books don’t just cater to tastes. They form tastes. They create norms—and
as the examples above show, the norms young people take away are not necessarily the norms adults intend. This is why I am skeptical of the social utility of so-called “problem novels”— books that have a troubled main character, such as a girl with a father who started raping her when she was a toddler and anonymously provides her with knives when she is a teenager hoping that she will cut herself to death. (This scenario is from Cheryl Rainfield’s 2010 Young Adult novel, Scars, which School Library Journal hailed as “one heck of a good book.”) The argument in favor of such books is that they validate the real and terrible experiences of teenagers who have been abused, addicted, or raped— among other things. The problem is that the very act of detailing these pathologies, not just in one book
Continued on page B-3
A-16 | Common Sense News | April 2014
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Volume IV Section B
CommonSenseNewsUSA.com
Apr. 2014
ARTICLE V “AMENDING THE CONTITUTION A NEW IS NOT THE ANSWER” ADVOCATE FOR SMALL BUSINESS By Cindy Lyons, Senior Staff Writer
The legitimate fear amongst most liberty groups began in earnest when they saw the ignoring of the Constitution by all three branches of the Federal government and in their states. • They saw Congress “deem” a bill not authorized by the Constitution. A bill not widely accepted by the majority of the American people. • They saw a Supreme Court declare the new unaffordable Affordable Care Act a taxable act. A tax that could now be laid upon a non-interstate bill that was not within Congress’s enumerated powers. • The last two Presidents have attacked liberty with signing the Patriot Act and the NDAA. Democrats loudly protested it when President Bush enacted it but were largely silent when President Obama super-sized it... leaving every citizen of the world under the all seeing eye of the NSA. Between these two progressive presidents
"What have you given us?” Franklin is said to have replied: “A republic, if you can keep it.”
we’ve seen national debt rise 7 trillion and it is still growing. This has many financial experts saying we are nearing economic collapse. Obama has gone beyond his enumerated powers, using executive orders to bypass opposition in his efforts to achieve his “fundamental transformation of America” that has advanced beyond the founder’s original intent for the Constitution and endangers each state’s sovereignty. • They continue to see most state legislators refuse to reign in the central government. Unwilling to do so because of the central government’s regular cash flows to them perhaps? Across the U.S., legislators (state and central) propose constitutional restrictions on the individual’s freedom to “keep and bear Arms” as well as other usurpations. They pass bills against the freedoms that are unalienable and not granted by any level of government. The Article V promoters readily accuse those against their efforts of being "fear mongers.” But fear may not be a bad thing when considering serious matters according to the co-founder of DefendNotAmend.com, Richard Fry, who said in a recent article: "As most who have been in or trained for emergency
Continued on page B-12
IF IT SAVES JUST ONE LIFE HB 14-1225, a bill concerning the use of a wireless telephone while driving, was introduced in the House and assigned to the House Transportation & Energy Committee. Under current law, drivers under 18 are prohibited from using wireless phones at any time while driving, and all drivers of any age are prohibited from text messaging while driving. HB 14-1225 is similar to laws in 12 other states and the District of Columbia, and if signed into law, would prohibit using a wireless telephone without a hands-free device within a school or construction zone. A violation is a secondary offense that carries a $50 fine for the first offense, then $100 on second and subsequent offenses, but the fine is doubled for citations issued in school or construction zones. Secondary offense means that a law enforcement officer is required to pull the driver over for a primary offense such as speeding, and then the officer may issue a citation for using a wireless phone, but only if the officer observes the driver using the wireless phone in the school or construction zone. HB 14-1225 also expands existing law to prohibit the use of an “application” beyond text messaging where the application requires data entry such as when pressing a button while the wireless phone is used as a media player. A driver who uses a wireless phone
By: Timothy C. Dietz, Esq.
may also be cited under this bill if using the phone, without a handsfree device, is the cause of a traffic accident. A prior bill to ban the use of wireless phones while driving was introduced in 2009 as HB 09-1094. However, amendments to the bill as it worked its way through the legislature resulted in the law as it exists today. Today, with hand-held technology rapidly advancing from wireless phones to full featured computing platforms, bills to ban the use of wireless phones while driving are gaining traction. Whether the renewed effort to ban wireless phone use while driving will achieve its intended goal of reducing driver distractions in Colorado remains to be seen.
There are three types of driver distractions: visual (eyes off roadway), manual (hands off the wheel), and cognitive (mind off the task). Studies of driver distractions have been conducted with three briefly presented here. A study sponsored by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration investigated the impact of driver distraction including the effect of taking a driver’s eyes away from the forward roadway. Rebecca L. Olson, et al., Driver Distraction in Commercial Vehicle Operations, Center for Truck and Bus Safety (2009). The Olson study concluded, among other things, that drivers who text
Continued on page B-4
Empowering Entrepreneurs in Southern Colorado
The Business Chamber of Southern Colorado (BCoSC) opened its doors in February with a message of empowerment for both established businesses and startups across the Pikes Peak region. BCoSC envisions a vibrant, business-friendly environment for Colorado Springs and its’ surrounding areas that will be an example for communities across Colorado and attract entrepreneurs to the region. “Business owners in Colorado Springs and surrounding areas have taken big hits financially, socially, and politically over the last 5 years in this sluggish economy,” says BCoSC Vice President of Business Development, Lana Fore-Warkocz. “By banding together, small businesses can ignite new growth in the local Colorado economy and rekindle the respect for small business success in America!” Jill Davis, BCoSC, CEO states, “The majority of businesses don’t have lavish budgets for marketing and advertising and lack the time to get involved politically. We want to bring real value to our members through the services and education that we offer.” Membership packages promise access to business growth and educational opportunities, copious networking events and resources, member discounts, and that increases free-market friendly economic policies. Kanda Calef, BCoSC Government Affairs Officer, states that “Politicians keep promising jobs, jobs, jobs, and yet the statistics show a steady decline in employment. We will represent the small business job creators, by rolling up our sleeves and vigorously bring their case to the politicians as we advocate for freemarket friendly policies that are proven to create jobs and decrease unemployment.” The staff looks forward to a busy 2014 serving their new membership. If you would like more information on the Business Chamber of Southern Colorado, please call 719/375-3111 or email info@BCoSC.com .
B-2 | Common Sense News | April 2014
RECLAIMING THE POWER OF THE CONSTITUTION Health care is a right. Obamacare is unconstitutional. The Constitution is a “living document” which needs to be re‐interpreted to fit modern times. Who has NOT heard these statements, among others, regarding the foundational document of our nation, the Constitution of the United States? How many of the people uttering such statements with great passion and emotion have recently read the Constitution, much less studied it? What do we really know about the Constitution, and why does it matter? Many of us have believed that the system of checks and balances created by our Constitution is a sufficient guardian of freedom. We remember learning about these checks and balances in school, and we carry on in confidence that the Judicial branch will check the Legislative branch which will check the Executive branch, which will... you get the point. That’s what we were all taught, right? But suppose no one “checked” the judicial branch when it ruled that it was illegal for a farmer in Kansas to grow his own wheat on his own land to feed his own livestock (Wickard v Filburn)? What if no one “checked” the executive branch when the President cleared the way for Japanese American internment camps by executive order? What if no
one “checked” the legislature when it passed laws to force the people of free states to return escaped slaves to their owners (Fugitive Slave Act) and the Supreme Court demanded Wisconsin follow that law? In each of these cases, who is to stand up to “check the checkers.” The founders believed that it is “we, the people” who hold this ultimate authority. They thought that the people would never give up their right and responsibility to enforce the Constitution. How do we know what the Constitution meant when it was written, and whether it still applies today? Not by studying current textbooks or sitting in a 2 day crash course, both of which are often no more than someone’s opinionated paraphrase of history, but by going to the source documents of the day. This means the Constitution itself. We are also fortunate to have another original document from that period which comes highly recommended by none other than Thomas Jefferson. That document is called The Federalist Papers, and was written in great part by James Madison, known as the principal author of the Constitution. Jefferson endorsed The Federalist Papers as the ultimate authority on the meaning and intent of the Constitution. We must understand the
constitution and how it applies to our world because the Constitution is not a self‐enforcing document. It requires a people who are confident in their knowledge and energized in their defense of liberty. To give you an idea of how the spirit of freedom among the people has changed over 200 years, consider that James Madison believed that it was inconceivable that Congress could ever pass a law that would not apply to members of Congress. He states in Federalist #57 that, “If this spirit shall ever be so far debased as to tolerate a law not obligatory on the legislature, as well as on the people, the people will be prepared to tolerate anything but liberty.” Yet that is the very situation we endure today. Members of Congress have passed many laws that do not apply to themselves. What other intolerable acts of tyranny might occur in an age of such a debased spirit of liberty? Can we depend upon
By: Richard Bratten
the government to be the judge of its own power? History has shown us many wretched examples of what happens when the individual spirit of liberty fades and government is left to check its own power. Our Constitution was designed to provide chains of restraint upon government so that man could remain free. However, it is nothing without the enforcement that is to be provided by the spirit of liberty which beat so strong in the hearts of those who founded this country. We must reclaim that spirit of liberty, and soon. Go buy some books, download them, read them on the internet – whatever it takes. Study and discuss with others. Light the fire before it is too late. Touch your torch to the flame of freedom that burns so strong in our Constitution and illuminates The Federalist Papers, and rekindle the spirit of liberty. Our future depends upon it.
April 2014 | Common Sense News | B-3
THE CASE FOR GOOD TASTE IN CHILDREN’S BOOKS but in many, normalizes them. And teenagers are all about identifying norms and adhering to them. In journalist Emily Bazelon’s recent book about bullying, she describes how schools are using a method called “social norming” to discourage drinking and driving. “The idea,” she writes, “is that students often
overestimate how much other kids drink and drive, and when they find out that it’s less prevalent than they think—outlier behavior rather than the norm—they’re less likely to do it themselves.” The same goes for bullying: “When kids understand that cruelty isn’t the norm,” Bazelon says, “they’re less likely to be cruel themselves.” Now isn’t that interesting? Ok, you say, but books for kids have always been dark. What about Hansel and Gretel? What about the scene in Beowulf where the monster sneaks
into the Danish camp and starts eating people? Beowulf is admittedly gruesome in parts—and fairy tales are often scary. Yet we approach them at a kind of arm’s length, almost as allegory. In
t h e case of Beowulf, furthermore, children reading it—or having it read to them— are absorbing the rhythms of one of mankind’s great heroic epics, one that explicitly reminds us that our talents come from God and that we act under God’s eye and guidance. Even with the gore, Beowulf won’t make a child callous. It will help to civilize him. English philosopher Roger Scruton has written at length about what he calls the modern “flight from beauty,”
which he sees in every aspect of our contemporary culture. “It is not merely,” he writes, “that artists, directors, musicians and others connected with the arts”—here we might include authors of Young Adult literature—“are in a flight from beauty . . . . There is a desire to spoil beauty . . . . For beauty makes a claim on us; it is a call to renounce our narcisissm and look with reverence on the world.” We can go to the Palazzo Borghese in Rome and stand before Caravaggio’s painting of David with the head of Goliath, and though we are looking at horror we are not seeing ugliness. The light that plays across David’s face and chest, and that slants across Goliath’s halfopen eyes and mouth, transforms the scene into something beautiful. The problem with the darker offerings in Young Adult literature is that they lack this transforming and uplifting quality. They take difficult subjects and wallow in them in a gluttonous way; they show an orgiastic lack of restraint that is the mark of bad taste. Young Adult book author Sherman Alexie wrote a rebuttal to my article entitled, “Why the Best Kids Books are Written in Blood.” In it, he asks how I could honestly believe that a sexually explicit Young Adult novel might traumatize a teenaged mother. “Does she believe that a YA novel about murder and rape will somehow shock a teenager whose life has been
Continued from page A-14
damaged by murder and rape? Does she believe a dystopian novel will frighten a kid who already lives in hell?” Well of course I don’t. But I also don’t believe that the vast majority of 12-to18-year-olds are living in hell. And as for those who are, does it really serve them to give them more torment and sulphur in the stories they read? The body of children’s literature is a little like the Library of Babel in the Jorge Luis Borges story—shelf after shelf of books, many almost gibberish, but a rare few filled with wisdom and beauty and answers to important questions. These are the books that have lasted because generation after generation has seen in them something transcendent, and has passed them on. Maria Tatar, who teaches children’s literature at Harvard, describes books like The Chronicles of Narnia, The Wind in the Willows, The Jungle Books, and Pinocchio as “setting minds into motion, renewing senses, and almost rewiring brains.” Or as William Wordsworth wrote: “What we have loved/others will love, and we will teach them how.” *** The good news is that just like the lousy books of the past, the lousy books of the present will blow away like chaff. The bad news is that they will leave their mark. As in so many aspects of culture, the damage they do can’t easily be measured. It is more a thing to be felt—a coarseness, an emptiness, a sorrow. “Beauty is vanishing from our world because we live as if it does not matter.” That’s Roger Scruton again. But he doesn’t want us to despair. He also writes: It is one mark of rational beings that they do not live only—or even at all—in the present. They have the freedom to despise the world that surrounds them and live another way. The art, literature, and music of our civilization remind them of this, and also point to the path that lies always before them: the path out of desecration towards the sacred and the sacrificial. Let me close with Saint Paul the Apostle in Philippians 4:8: Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. And let us think about these words when we go shopping for books for our children. “Reprinted by permission from Imprimis, a publication of Hillsdale College.” Meghan Cox Gurdon has been the children’s book reviewer for the Wall Street Journal since 2005. Her work has also appeared in numerous other publications, including the Washington Post, the Washington Examiner, the San Francisco Chronicle, National Review, and the Weekly Standard. In the 1990s, she worked as an overseas correspondent in Hong Kong, Tokyo, and London, and traveled and reported from Cambodia, Somalia, China, Israel, South Korea, and Northern Ireland. She graduated magna cum laude from Bowdoin College in 1986 and lives near Washington, D.C. with her husband and their five children.
B-4 | Common Sense News | April 2014
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IF IT SAVES JUST ONE LIFE LEGISLATIVE ALERT: HB 14-1225, THE DISTRACTED DRIVING BILL
Continued from page B-1
message while driving were 23.2 times more likely to be involved in a safetycritical event, compared to a baseline reference, than if they were not text messaging while driving. The study also concluded that talking on a handheld (wireless) phone, while slightly riskier than talking with a hands-free device, was not significantly more risky than eating, smoking, or looking at objects outside the vehicle. Dialing a cell phone, separate from talking on the phone, was considered a high risk behavior. Even with that data, the Olson study did not consider cognitive distractions. Results of the Olson study are posted on the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) website at www.distraction. gov. In April and May, 2013, The Colorado Department of Transportation (www.
concern. Consequently, they appear to suggest that HB 14-1225 misses the mark. On March 12, 2014, the Transportation & Energy Committee took public testimony and adopted four amendments to HB 14-1225 including one to carve out an exception for first responders such as police, fire, sheriff, and emergency medical services operators. An amendment to create an exception for using ear buds was rejected. Most witnesses who testified during the committee hearing supported the bill, but there was some opposition. The Colorado State Patrol took a neutral position on the bill, pending any amendments. The trooper who testified further stated that any underlying data points related to the number of accidents due to distracted
"HB 14-1225 also expands existing law to prohibit the use of an “application” beyond text messaging where the application requires data entry such as when pressing a button while the wireless phone is used as a media player."
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coloradodot.info) sponsored the Distracted Driver Study by the Institute of Transportation Management of Colorado State University. 24,022 vehicles were surveyed at 88 sites in 12 counties by observing drivers of cars, vans, sport utility vehicles, and light trucks. The top three overall distractions counted were talking on a cell phone, drinking/eating, and texting. Outside distractions, children, and using headphones or ear buds were the bottom three. Like the Olson study, the CSU study did not consider cognitive distractions. Unlike the Olson study, the CSU study did not evaluate the effect of a driver’s eyes taken off the forward roadway. A University of Utah study of cognitive distractions in June, 2013, and published by the AAA Foundation (www.AAAFoundation.org), found that even when the driver’s eyes are on the road and hands on the wheel, cognitive distractions impair driving by suppressing brain activity, increasing reaction times, missing cues in peripheral detections, and decreasing visual scans of the environment. Driver interaction with speechto-text systems (i.e., infotainment and other voice-activated devices) created the highest level of cognitive distraction. The Utah/AAA study also found that hand-held phone use, and hands-free device use resulted in similar distraction ratings as having a passenger in the vehicle. All three studies indicate that distractions while driving can be caused by many sources and are a real
driving are unreliable because the data is dependent upon witness statements which vary. After taking testimony, committee members expressed concern about whether HB 14-1225 is a nanny bill that would prohibit something as simple as pressing a button on the stereo or GPS navigation system, whether there would be unintended consequences on rideshare programs and businesses, whether the bill adequately addresses the real problem, whether the bill is based on emotion rather than policy, and whether there could be effective enforcement. On the other hand, more than one representative supported the bill if it saves just one life. There were a few suggestions that this bill is a start to an incremental statutory scheme. At the end of the day, HB 14-1225 failed to advance to the committee of the whole House by a 6-7 vote. A subsequent vote to kill the bill also failed. Instead, the bill appears to be headed to the Transportation Legislation Review Committee (TLRC) which should meet later this year after the 2014 General Assembly ends. Regardless of one’s position in support of, or opposition to this legislation, a distracted driving bill will probably return in the 2015 General Assembly after vetting by the TLRC. Tim is an attorney licensed in California, Colorado, Maine and New Hampshire. He is also a 24-year Marine Corps veteran who served during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. He can be reached through his website at www.timothydietzlaw.com or at timmdietz@comcast.net.
April 2014 | Common Sense News | B-5
THE DEATH OF PRIVATE PROPERTY, PART I Continued from page A-12
SCOTT
Why? 1) They assume all business owners are rich and can pay a bigger share. 2) They assume all businesses can pass their tax bills onto customers by higher prices and thus conceal from the public the true cost of redistribution of the wealth. 3) Only about 5% of voters own business property (including vacant land with no customers) and are outvoted by homeowners. Politicians say they want to create jobs (not their role) and are probusiness. They lie. Portable property used in business, like computers and furniture, is taxed at the highest rate. It also paid sales tax when purchased and generates income tax on profits and on sale of the business. Triple taxation at high rates is their idea of helping business. High taxation gives politicians the excuse to lower taxes on businesses that give them bribes or campaign donations in return. It also creates jobs for bureaucrats to negotiate insider deals for rebates and waivers. What do bureaucrats know about business? Zero. “Equal protection of the law?” Our docile courts say the constitution does not apply to taxation. Why? Their loyalty is to their employer, not to the constitution they swore to uphold. What to do? Read next month's essay.
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DYNAMIC PROBLEM SOLVING I nearly shot a man this weekend. It wasn’t something I wanted to do. I don’t ever desire to take the life of another human being, but I am fully prepared to if I have to. Still, the thought of that first sentence echoes in my head. “I nearly shot a man this weekend.” Those words are haunting, and they should be. To keep my mind and body from becoming too idle in sleepy Utah, I work every other weekend as a bouncer in a bar. A few weeks back, a tweaker got irate and had to be removed from the bar. Heated words were exchanged, but nothing physical, no police, just the normal actions of a tweaker mixing booze with meth. We always know there can be retaliation from those we remove, but that seldom is the case. Not so with this one. This weekend, as I left a discount store and was crossing the parking lot to my truck, I heard an engine rev and a litany of hurled obscenities and threats. Heading straight toward me driven by aforementioned tweaker. My first reaction was to blade myself to the vehicle to give me better options of jumping out of the way should he swerve to follow me or rolling over the hood. My second instinct is to draw and fire. I got bladed and my hand went to the grip of my gun, before he braked and said, “you have a problem
By Dan Kidder
now, I am going to beat your ass.” At those words, I began to draw. When I draw, I almost immediately fire. Then, I noticed something that froze the blood in my veins. Three tiny heads peering around seats from inside the van. This tweaker decided to pick a
fight in front of his three kids. I am hesitant to fire into a vehicle. I am definitely not going to fire into a vehicle occupied by one irate and threatening bad guy and three small children. The gun went back into the holster with a click, and I began looking
for a plan-B. While I made my way to my truck, he parked in a slot and began pulling three children from his van, as I carefully watched his every move to see what he would do next. I made a mental scan of the less lethal options at my
Continued on page B-7
B-6 | Common Sense News | April 2014
MEETINGS & EVENTS EVENTS: This is a list of available events to attend. If you want your event listed in the May issue of Common Sense News, Please email editor@commonsensenewsusa.com Make sure you specify EVENT LISTING in the subject heading and please add contact information. Mesa County Republican Women When: Tuesday Apr 1, 2014 11:30am – 1pm Mountain Time Where: Two Rivers
Weld Republican Breakfast When: Wednesday Apr 2, 2014 6:30am – 8am Mountain Time Where: 2118 35th Avenue, Greeley, CO Randy's All American Grill 2118 35th Avenue (Westlake Shopping Center) Randy's Grill will be serving us in their meeting room. Enter the front door, come to the east end. Randy's has a full breakfast menu and great cinnamon rolls. Join us for great fellowship, great food and a great speaker each week!
Arapahoe County Republican Men's Club Breakfast Meetings - 7:00am every Wednesday at Garcia's Restaurant (DTC) 5050 South Syracuse St Denver, CO 80237 Cost is $15 RSVP to acrmc1@gmail.com. For more information, visit our website: http://acrepubclub.wordpress.com
South JeffCo Republican Breakfast Club Email: asset_management@msn.com When: Thursday Apr 3, 2014 7am – 8am Mountain Time Where: Foothills Golf Course Clubhouse, 3901 S Carr St., Lakewood, CO 80235
Reagan Club of Colorado monthly meeting When: Thursday Apr 3, 2014 5:30pm – 9pm Mountain Time Where: The Grill at Legacy Ridge, 10801 Legacy Ridge Parkway,
By: Colorado GOP
Westminster, CO, 80031 Our guest speakers for the evening will be some of the state legislators that the Reagan Club helped get elected in November. Hear what Lori Saine, Perry Buck, Vicki Marble and a few others about their plans to combat the Democrat-controlled Colorado House and Senate. Admission is $25 for nonmembers and $20 for members. Dinner is included along with coffee, tea, and water included. A cash bar will be available. You can purchase your ticket(s) at the door or online at www.ReaganClubCo.com/events. The Reagan Club of Colorado held our first meeting in October, 2011. Our group, based on Ronald Wilson Reagan, was founded on these principles.
Rd, Johnstown, CO 80534. It is open to the public. Cost for a buffet style breakfast & meeting is $10 ($2 for students). You can join for $10 which gets you email mailings of upcoming speakers and a name-tag.
Parker Breakfast Club
Huerfano County Republicans Monthly Meeting
Steve Mark parkerbreakfast@dcgop.org When: Friday Apr 4, 2014 7am – 8am Mountain Time Where: Warhorse Inn, 19420 E. Main Street Parker
College Republican State Convention When: Saturday Apr 5, 2014 9am – 2pm Mountain Time Where: University of Denver Royal Gorge Tea Party & Royal Gorge Republican Women's GOP Governor Candidate Forum
Cherry Creek Republican Women When: Tuesday Apr 8, 2014 11:30am – 1pm Mountain Time Where: 110 Glenmoor Drive Cherry Hills Village, Colorado Cherry Creek Republican Women Meets the second Tuesday of each month at 11:30 a.m. at Glenmoor Country Club with the exception of the months of July and August. Luncheon cost: $17.00 with cash/checks payable to Glenmoor Country Club. For information 303-755-3368
When: Tuesday Apr 8, 2014 6pm – 7pm Mountain Time Where: Huerfano Community Center, 928 Russell, Walsenburg
North JeffCo Republican Women When: Tuesday Apr 8, 2014 7pm – 9pm Mountain Time Where: 911 Driving School, 9100 100th Ave., Westminster, CO
Aurora Republican Women
When: Saturday Apr 5, 2014 3pm – 5pm Mountain Time Where: Mountain View Core Knowledge School, 890 Field Avenue, Cañon City, CO, United States
Luncheon Meeting – 11:30am the 2nd Wednesday of every month at Blossoms Restaurant, 2888 S. Heather Gardens Way Aurora, CO. Cost is $10.00
Larimer County Republican Breakfast Club
Eagle County Republicans Committee Meeting
When: Monday Apr 7, 2014 7am – 8:30am Mountain Time Where: Johnson's Corner RV Retreat, 2842 SE Frontage Rd, Loveland, CO, United States Senator Kevin Lundberg hosts the LCRBC meeting every Monday from 7:00 - 8:30 AM at Johnson's Corner, 2842 SE Frontage
Central
When: Wednesday Apr 9, 2014 6pm – 7pm Mountain Time Where: Ambulance District Building, behind Edwards Post Office, Edwards, CO, 81632, United States
Denver Republican Women When: Saturday Apr 12, 2014, 9am – 11am Mountain Time Where: Emerald Grille at Windsor Gardens Join Denver Republican Women for breakfast, informative speakers and great camaraderie in a beautiful new venue. 597 S. Clinton Street, Denver, 80247 $10/members; $15/guests RSVP fnath@msn.com or purchase Reserve your tickets now at http://www.acteva. com/booking.cfm?bevaid=212313
Douglas Executive Meeting Monthly Executive Committee meeting of the DCR (Douglas County Republicans) All Republicans are welcome to attend. When: Saturday Apr 12, 2014 8am – 9am Mountain Time Where: Christensen Justice Center in Castle Rock
North Suburban Republican Forum When: Saturday Apr 12, 2014 9am – 11am Mountain Time Where: Gander Mountain, Thornton, CO
Liberty on the Rocks-Uptown
Fighting for Colorado
Join your free market friends as we gather for liberty! When: Wednesday Apr 16, 2014 7pm – 9pm Mountain Time Where: Uptown Tavern, 538 17th Avenue, Denver (Pearl and 17th Ave)
Steel City Republican Women When: Thursday Apr 17, 2014 11:30am – 12:30pm Mountain Time Where: Country Buffet, 3020 Hart Rd, Pueblo, CO
High Country Republican Club Meeting When: Tuesday Apr 15, 2014 7am – 8:30am Mountain Time Where: Le Peep, 1260 Bergen Pkwy., Evergreen, CO 80439
Jefferson County Republican Women
State Representative
When: Tuesday Apr 15, 2014 6pm – 8pm Mountain Time Where: Cafe del Sol, 608 Garrison St., Lakewood, CO 6:00 Social Hour / 6:30 Meeting Begins We enjoy guest speakers at our meetings. The price is $15 per person. RSVP 303.233.8244
Log Cabin Republicans – Colorado When: Tuesday Apr 15, 2014 6:30pm – 8:30pm Mountain Time Where: Thirty Fourteen, 3014 E. Colfax Ave., Denver, CO 80206 Networking: 6:30 to 7:00 p.m. Business meeting and speaker: 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. Join us for food, drinks, and political discourse. Log Cabin Republicans is the nation's only organization of Republicans who support fairness, freedom, and equality for gay and lesbian Americans. Visit us on the web at: http://www.logcabin. org/logcabinco/home.html. Email us at co@logcabin.org.
Jewish GOP of Denver When: Wednesday Apr 16, 2014 6:30pm – 8pm Mountain Time Where: East Side Kosher Deli, 499 S. Elm St., Denver, CO Please see www.j-gop.com. Our meetings begin at 6:30pm and will last about an hour. There will be plenty of time to schmooze and network with the other J-GOP members and friends before and after the meeting. Please enjoy dinner with us!
West Arapahoe Republican Forum A monthly forum for conservative discussion and debate on the issues facing Arapahoe County and the Country at large. When: Saturday Apr 19, 2014 9:15am – 11:15am Mountain Time Where: Littleton City Hall, 2255 West Berry Avenue, Littleton, Co, 80120
Jefferson County Republican Women When: Saturday April 19, 10am – 11am Where: 13952 Denver West Pkwy, Bldg 53, Suite 450, Golden, Colorado (map) Contactjeffcorepublicanwomen@gmail.com
West Arapahoe Republican Forum Sat, April 19, 9:15am – 11:15am Monthly on the third Saturday Where: Littleton City Hall, 2255 West Berry Avenue, Littleton, Co, 80120 A monthly forum for conservative discussion and debate on the issues facing Arapahoe County and the Country at large.
Broomfield Republican Women Mon, April 21, 11:30am – 1:30pm Monthly on the third Monday Where: Broadlands Golf Course, 4380 W. 144th Ave., Broomfield We do not meet during summer months, but do host a Summer Social in July and a Christmas Party in Dec. Reservations are required for the luncheon – $15.00. 303 469 2679
Mountain Women's Republican Club WhenThu, April 24, 7pm – 9pm WhereThe Barn in Evergreen Memorial Park on North Turkey Creek Road, Evergreen, Colorado mountainrepublicanwomen.com
Highlands Ranch Breakfast Fri, April 25, 7am – 8am Monthly on the fourth Friday Where Cafe' Mon Ami, 9579 S. University Blvd #150, Highlands Ranch, CO
Weld Breakfast Sat, April 26, 8am – 9am Monthly on the fourth Saturday Where: 217 1st Street, Fort Lupton, CO RSVP John Kivimaki 303-828-0262 North Jeffco GOP Women: Gubernatorial & Senatorial Forum When: Sat, May 3, 8am – 9am Where: Tri-City Baptist Church: 6953 W 92nd Lane, Westminster (map) Description8:00AM Check in 8:30AM Start
April 2014 | Common Sense News | B-7
DYNAMIC PROBLEM SOLVING Continued from page B-5 disposal. Pepper spray in my pocket? Check. Knife clipped to my belt? Check. All the while waiting for him to approach with a bat, tire iron, knife, gun, etc. Seeing my vigilance, or just reconsidering the wisdom of initiating a conflict in front of his children, he calmly gathered his flock and walked the into the store. Confrontation over. Win/Win. No one got hurt. But the “what ifs” are staggering. What if he had gunned the gas, even in jest to only scare me and see if I would jump? What if I hadn’t seen the children in the van? What if he had approached me on foot? What if he were armed? Utah is a stand your ground state. I am justified in defending myself anywhere I have the legal right to be. I do not have a duty to try to retreat. I like that because it means I don’t have to worry about getting shot in the back while I try to get away. But does it mean
that I should always stand my ground? Are there times were I can and should safely retreat from a confrontation? You better believe it. Too many people who decide to put on a gun for safety make the mistake of believing they are now a vigilante. That it is their duty to stand and battle criminals or seek them out. It is not. The purpose of getting a concealed firearms permit is to defend yourself and your loved ones from imminent force that is likely to cause death or serious bodily injury. That is it. Period! I tell students that if I walk down an alley and see someone pointing a gun at them, I will be a great witness. I will call 911 and I will get a terrific accurate description of the person, but unless they point their gun at me, I am not drawing mine. If you want to be defended by a gun, then get a gun and your permit and defend yourself. You see, I don’t know what caused this
"In a dynamic critical incident, a million calculations must be completed in a second or two."
person to draw a gun. Perhaps you are the aggressor. Perhaps they are a police officer. There are as many legitimate reasons for them to be pointing a gun at you as there are illegitimate ones. I am not inserting myself into a situation I don’t know anything about. I don’t need the civil and criminal liability nor do I need the potential risk for involving myself into a problem that isn’t mine. In a dynamic critical incident, a million calculations must be completed in a second or two. In the case of my tweaker, I needed to verify that he was a threat. I had to calculate the angle of deflection of my rounds so that if they skipped off the windshield rather than penetrated, I could know they would not present a hazard to others. I had to look at my target and calculate whether missed or over penetrating shots would be a hazard to those behind my target. I had to judge the speed and direction of travel of the vehicle to know where to go to leave its path. I had to look for cover and concealment. I had to look for innocents who could be hit by the van or walk between me and my line of fire. With that many factors to consider, it is easy to get one wrong. It is easy to mess up. It is easy to go from good guy with a gun to criminal in a heartbeat. To go from defender of innocent life, to taker of innocent life. To prison. To bankruptcy. To the morgue.
Even if you get it all right, and you have a perfect justifiable and legal shooting, all it takes is an overzealous anti-gun prosecutor to bankrupt you with legal fees. You can do it all the right way, and still lose your house and your life savings. Not to mention living with the knowledge of taking another life. Two weeks ago, my friend Lisa had a man break through two doors in her home to come face to face with her and her loaded handgun. She held him at gunpoint in her Washington state home for 23 minutes until police arrived. She could have pulled the trigger. She would have been justified. But she chose the prudent action and only used the force that she absolutely had to. Carrying a gun for self-defense is one thing. But using it is the absolute last resort when every other option is exhausted. Make sure that if you shoot that there is no other choice; that there is no possibility of injuring or killing another; that if you don’t pull that trigger, you fear you will die. Otherwise, the life you destroy may be your own. Dan Kidder is a Marine Corps veteran and owner and chief instructor of On Target Defensive Training in Utah. He is also the Managing Editor of Sportsman’s News Magazine and a host of Sportsman’s News Television.
5th anniversary Liberty event in Pueblo West on April 19th In lieu of the 5th anniversary of the Tax Day Tea Party, and because of the recent battles over gun control, we want to gather to commemorate the 239th. Anniversary of the "The Shot Heard Around the World." We will meet April 19th. at 11:00 am. at Patriot's Park in Pueblo West The plan is to demonstrate a show of force that Liberty groups such as the Tea Party, 9/12 groups and gun support groups still exist and we are not going away! We ask that all neighboring groups join us on this day, laying down any differences (if any exist). Let's come together with like-mindedness to defend our Constitutional Liberties, especially our second amendment rights, which defends all the rest of our rights. Patriot's Park is located at 230 S McCulloch Blvd in Pueblo West. It is just north of Vectra Bank on the NE corner of McCulloch and Joe Martinez. The Library is to the East. There is parking at the park, and also the Library. Again, we are starting at 11 am, and can go as long as we need to. There is no seating, if anyone needs to sit, bring your own lawn chair. You probably need to bring water as well. We suggest you bring a brown bag lunch as well. We have Sen. George Rivera lined
up to speak. Other speakers so far include Victor Head and his sister, who is in the Air Force, will sing; Pastor Klingenschmitt will hopefully preside; we have a couple of other speakers who will talk about the event. We will reaffirm our Constitutional Oaths. There are so many issues to fight these days: IRS, Common Core, ObamaCare and Agenda @1 to name just few. However, we will keep it on topic -- a powerful reminder of why we fight for liberty and freedom, and the importance of being able to defend ourselves! Also, any candidates are welcome to come and hear what we had to say, but may not use our event as a podium to campaign. However, if they do show, they will be acknowledged. It most likely will go a long way in the election if they show that they care enough to show up and listen to what we have to say. Candidates may set up a table. Thank you for all your help. If you have any questions or comments, call Betty at 719-384-2473 . My cell is 719-468-3567 email me at betty.blanco1@yahoo.com
• Conservative businessman, not a career politician • 30 years in the healthcare industry - the only candidate for governor that has read the entire Obamacare legislation and has a plan to help Colorado families • fund education at the local level without a tax increase, and streamline government to make life better for Coloradans “People have lost trust in our government, and even worse, they believe politicians don’t trust them. I believe that people their skills and expertise to build trust and a better society.
www.SteveHouseforGovernor.com Paid for by Steve House for Governor
B-8 | Common Sense News | April 2014
HICK OF A BAD JOB GREENWOOD VILLAGE, Colo. – Gov. John Hickenlooper finally admitted what we’ve all known for some time: he “did a crummy job last year of really opening the doors and listening and getting all the facts.” The accurate self-assessment, which was given at a meeting with the South Metro Denver Chamber of Commerce, set accord with Republicans who have made Hickenlooper’s “crummy” leadership a hallmark of the 2014 campaign cycle. “I actually couldn’t have said it better myself,” Colorado Republican Committee Chairman Ryan Call said. “Gov. Hickenlooper has done a crummy job of listening to Coloradans, and he has done a crummy job of advocating on our behalf.”
“I understand that 90 percent of you don’t even want to hear the word Obamacare, and neither do I.”
Colorado GOP
Hickenlooper even went further to describe how out of touch he has been since taking office, admitting that his support from the business community is on the verge of collapsing. “During the last session, I lost probably half of you. I accept that,” Hickenlooper said. Call agreed with Hickenlooper’s evaluation: “Gov. Hickenlooper practically admitted that he doesn’t deserve reelection, and I believe most Coloradans would agree with his assessment.” While talking about failed leadership, Hickenlooper took a dig at Obamacare, which his good friend Sen. Mark Udall, who is also in a tough reelection battle, vehemently supports: “I understand that 90 percent of you don’t even want to hear the word Obamacare, and neither do I.” Call said Hickenlooper’s wish wasn’t about to come true. “Unfortunately, President Obama and Sen. Udall have made it clear that Obamacare is not going away anytime soon, so it will be the number one topic of discussion from now until Election Day. That’s bad news for Gov. Hickenlooper, Sen. Udall, Andrew Romanoff and every other radical, outof-touch liberal who has hitched their wagon to the Obamacare debacle,” Call added.
UDALL'S BIG LIE GREENWOOD VILLAGE, Colo. – It’s been firmly established that U.S. Sen. Mark Udall has trouble with the truth. Prior to casting the deciding vote for Obamacare, Udall knowingly lied to voters when he said Coloradan’s can keep their health care plan if they like it. PolitiFact has named “If you like your health care plan, you can keep it,” the “Lie of the Year” for 2013, as over 350,000 Coloradans and millions more around the country received notices informing them that the health plans that they liked were going to be cancelled. In the same interview where he promised that Coloradans could keep their health care plan, he also said that “they’ll be able to keep that doctor….” Now, in a recording released by investigative reporters at Complete Colorado, another Udall lie was exposed: It turns out that mom's are losing access to their children's pediatricians and many Coloradan's can no longer seek their family doctors because of Obamacare. In the recording, Rebecca Ryan Ford of Fort Collins asked a CoverColorado representative a simple question: “So they’re going to penalize me because I want to keep my doctor?” The representative’s response was even simpler: “Yes.”
Colorado GOP
To date, the radical Senator has refused to give an explanation for why he lied to Coloradans, or what he is going to do to rectify the harm he caused to countless residents of our state. “It’s clear that Mark Udall is not fit to serve the people of Colorado in the U.S. Senate,” Colorado Republican Committee Chairman Ryan Call said. “He has repeatedly lied to voters about Obamacare. And even worse, he has refused to even offer an apology to the countless number of working families, young people, small business owners and senior citizens who are suffering because of his unyielding support of Obamacare.”
“So they’re going to penalize me because I want to keep my doctor?”
April 2014 | Common Sense News | B-9
GRIDLOCK
By Al Maurer
Democrats denounce supposed gridlock in Washington as a way of pressuring Republicans to go along with their tax-and-spend socialist agenda. Conservatives have lots of good ideas — as evidenced by last month’s CPAC conference — but elected Republicans generally seem reluctant or even afraid to embrace them. Every Saturday pollster Scott Rasmussen does a “week in review.” Last week, he asked rhetorically, “Is anyone in Washington, D.C., listening to voters?” The answer is no. A divided nation is behind the partisan divide. Consider Rasmussen’s poll results when questions are broken down by party affiliation:
Generally speaking, would you prefer More active gov’t w/more services & higher taxes Rep
Dem
Other
6%
48%
23%
Smaller gov’t w/ fewer services and lower taxes Rep 89%
Dem 38%
Other 63%
Should the era of big government be over? Yes Rep
Dem
Other
72%
26%
52%
No Rep 11%
Dem 43%
Other 23%
Will more gov’t spending & higher taxes help or hurt the economy? Help Rep 6%
Dem 38%
Other 21%
Hurt Rep 88%
Dem 36%
Other 62%
No impact Rep 1%
Dem 13%
Other 7%
The numbers are clear: The views of Republican and Democrat voters are opposites, although not polar opposite. Democrats seem more evenly split on the questions. “Others,” which include people not affiliated with either major party, more closely match Republicans. Given this divide, shouldn’t the government be pursuing policies more reminiscent of the Reagan era than the Roosevelt era? The answer is a little complex. In poll after poll the attitudes of the “political class” are shown to be the polar opposite of the population at large. While the tables above reflect an electorate almost evenly divided in thirds, the attitudes of the political class very strongly resemble the Democrat column. The political class are politicians, academia, and the press. They are concentrated inside the Washington D.C. beltway and a few other places that take their cues from Washington. Our representatives are not in touch with the people, but only with each other. This is true regardless of party or level of government. Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana didn’t maintain a residence in the state. Former legislators Bob Dole, a Republican, and Tom Daschle, a Democrat, work for the same lobbying firm. In Colorado, recalled State Sen. John
Morse lived not in his district, but in Denver. Running for reelection at age 76, Republican Sen. Thad Cochran of Mississippi claims not to have heard about the Tea Party. At some level, the people understand that their representatives are not representing them. In another poll result, Rasmussen reports that only 29 percent of people think that elected representatives should be reelected. Yet over 95 percent of incumbents are reelected. The gridlock will continue unless
something changes. What we have now is a government run by a minority in their own interest. To have a government run for the people we need legislators of the people. The Constitution gives us the chance to elect the right kind of legislators every two years. November is coming and it’s time again to clean House. Read more at http://www.commdiginews. com/politics-2/gridlock-in-washingtonreflects- a- par tisan - divide- in - america12928/#PQVA7L4pJRJMu1ad.99
B-10 | Common Sense News | April 2014
COLLEGE REPUBLICANS MY BACKGROUND Colonel (ret.), US Air Force Reserves (JAG) Republican activist in El Paso County Party since 1999 Congressional Legislative Aide during Reagan era College instructor on energy development; space law and policy Successfully fought EPA regulations that hurt our military & taxpayers
MY TOP ISSUES LIMITED GOVERNMENT
Government should not tell us what to buy, how to live, or what to believe PROTECT CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS
Oppose Obamacare mandates to buy “Federal Government Approved� health insurance Protect 2nd Amendment gun rights Stop unauthorized government surveillance REGULATORY REFORM & JOBS
Reduce the time and cost to start up a business or expand existing businesses WILDFIRES and FLOODING
Advocate effective policies for flooding and wildfire mitigation Increased local control of public forest lands EDUCATION REFORM
Opt-Out of Federal Common Core - maintain local and state control Expand industrial education for high school students interested in manufacturing or technical jobs PRO-LIFE
I believe in the sanctity of human life, which includes the unborn
www.TerriCarverforHD20.com Paid for by Citizens to Elect Terri Carver For HD 20
www.IntermountainMediaLLC.com Southern Colorado 719-302-1900 Denver 720-400-6234
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College Republicans have made waves this year in Colorado. We help Recall Sen. Morse. Made national news by exposing a bias student government at CU that denied us funding to attend CPAC. Grown our presence on college campuses to Colorado College, Regis, CSU Pueblo, Colorado Technical College in Aurora, and beyond. Partnered with the Colorado GOP to build the Tomorrow's Leaders Program to engage youth. All is left is to Grand Old Party... Join us! April 4th Social to end the semester! Appetizers will be provided. Speakers include Sen. George Riveria, Secretary Scott
By: Aslin Scott
Gessler, and College Republican National Committee Executive Director Matt Donnellan - Will take place at Maggiano's at the Denver Pavilions on 500 16th Street, 16th St. Mall Promenade Denver, CO 80202 starting at 6:30PM April 5th - Take place at Loft in Anderson Hall on DU's campus starting at 8:30AM. Speakers include Chairman Ryan Call and Candidate for Congress George Leing. We will be electing new state wide leadership and hearing about the future initiatives going forward for our organization! College Republicans have a lot to celebrate this year and the future ahead. We hope you can be a part of it. To learn more about supporting College Republicans statewide, please visit: http://state.crnc.org/colorado Aslinn Scott - University of Colorado-Boulder Communication
6 WAYS TO SHARE YOUTH ARCHERY Archery target shooting offers a unique opportunity for children. Shooters learn muscle strength, body parts, safety, focus and discipline while shooting a bow. They cannot only have fun shooting a bull’s-eye, but may eventually compete or progress to become hunters. I’ve spent a lot of time chatting with friends about how to choose a bow for their sons and daughters. The answers varied depending on the age, skill and interest of the young one. All of our answers encouraged parents to get their children into one of the safest sports around. Last week I stopped by the local archery shop to buy a bouquet of arrows for my daughter. As I waited, the bow technician and I chatted. I disclosed that I had referred a number of moms and dads to his shop to discuss gifts (bows) for their loved ones. He said the store had sold a record amount of youth bows. That is good news! There are potentially a lot of new archers entering the world. Thanks to movies like Disney’s Brave and the Hunger Games, there is a newfound interest in the sport of archery. It is exciting to see so many young ones getting motivated to learn about bows and arrows. As I made the long trek home, I wondered how the parents of these children were planning to get the kids started with their bows. Then I pondered what they could do to continue a child’s interest in archery. After all, we don’t want that bow to be a dust collector if the excitement fades. Mom or dad can teach the kids but there are other ways to share the archery passion with tomorrow’s archers and keep the passion alive.
Five ways children can participate in archery 1. Colorado Bow Hunter’s Association (CBA): The CBA is a great resource for locating archery events in the state. This summer they are offering the Ted Nugent Camp for Kids. July 18th from 7:30am to 5:00pm at Quail Mountain Recreation Area. To register, call Carol Ashurst at 720-231-5826. 2. Youth Hunter Education
Challenge (YHEC): YHEC is diverse in types of shooting. It offers instruction in archery as well as long guns, muzzleloaders, shotguns, wildlife identification, hunter’s safety, orienteering and more. Many clubs have equipment for the children to use so a parent does not have to commit to purchasing an item until they are certain their child is interested. For more information on YHEC, visit http://yhec.nra.org/ 3. National Field Archery Association (NFAA): Via NFAA’s joint Certified Instructor Program, shooting and equipment clinics, and shooter's schools are accessible
April 2014 | Common Sense News | B-11
By Mia Anstine
in all 50 states. Additionally, NFAA members may compete at USA Archery (USAA) national and regional events, and USA Archery members may compete at NFAA national and sectional events. Contact your local archery shop for information on NFAA programs in your area. 4. USA Archery: USAA Offers Junior Olympic Archery Development (JOAD), a nationwide youth archery program found in over 500 clubs across the country. Archers up
information on clubs near you. 5. Archery Shooters Association, LLC (ASA): ASA is proud of the fact that they are very active in supporting youth archery. They have worked closely with the development and promotion of National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP), but more recently have been active in the development of the Scholastic 3-D Archery (S3DA) program which is specifically geared to after school archery. In addition, the S3DA & ASA programs working in conjunction with United States Collegiate Archery (USCA) which sanctions collegiate archery programs and includes scholarship opportunities in archery. Visit http://www. asaarchery.com for information on programs in your area. 6. Local Archery Shop: You can always ask your local archery shop, or look on-line, for what programs are available in your area. Many archery shops offer instruction or reserve their shooting lanes for instructors.
through age 20 can enroll in a class near them, learn the basics of archery, earn achievement awards and learn to compete if they so choose. JOAD is structured to help archers achieve their archery goals, whether that is to enjoy the sport recreationally or reach an Olympic or Paralympic dream. Visit http:// www.teamusa.org/USA-Archery for
I will represent the people of Colorado to achieve: · A Balanced Federal Budget · A Viable Renewable Energy Portfolio
· A healthcare system that won't hurt Colorado businesses
Phone: (970) 509-9187 Mail to: PO Box 108 Hot Sulphur Springs, CO 80451 Email: info@baumgardnerforussenate.com Or got the website: www.baumgardnerforussenate.com
"As your Senator, I will be your voice and take your concerns and issues to the floor of the Capitol and fight for them. I will listen to all concerns and not just the ones that I am told are politically viable. I will represent the state of Colorado, not the will of Washington!" -Randy Baumgardner Paid for by the committee to elect Randy Baumgardner for United States Senate
B-12 | Common Sense News | April 2014
ARTICLE V “AMENDING THE CONTITUTION IS NOT THE ANSWER” Continued from page B-1
situations know, including boy scouts, fear is not a problem, but often a life saver... Fear is an unpleasant feeling of anxiety or apprehension caused by the presence or anticipation of danger including from the unknown. Fear is the emotional cousin to physical pain. It is a bio-chemical warning mechanism. Fear heightens our awareness and makes us more cautious and more
the preamble to it and Article 6 & 7. This was said in a debate (http:// youtu.be/kCApyUYvuRE) with Jeff Lewis of Patriot Coalition (http:// www.patriotcoalition.com), a primary partner with DefendNotAmend. com. In plain English: the danger of this movement is that 95% of the Constitution could be altered or abolished and not only by “panicked
the Framers expected would keep the central government in check, not the risky Article V convention. To paraphrase Jeff Lewis almost verbatim, “If government servants NOT following the Constitution is NOT the problem, amending the Constitution is certainly NOT the answer!” For further information listen to KrisAnne Hall on her 5-part series on Article V: http://bit.ly/NxyffJ.
"As most who have been in or trained for emergency situations know, including boy scouts, fear is not a problem, but often a life saver..."
deliberate. Fear can be an effective motivator. Its byproducts often are prudence, discretion and diligence. Often times, preparation is in direct proportion to fear. Controlled fear is a good thing." Fry also said, "Every Boy Scout learns that if they catch on fire they should not panic and run, which will fan the fire and make it hotter and spread faster, but they should drop and roll. If they are lost in the woods they need to stop not keep going." Convention of States staff counsel Robert Kelly freely admitted that virtually all of the Constitution was available for "amending” excluding
liberty loving patriots.” Still the answer is you do not need an Article V to stop a run-a-way federal government, the risk is far too great. “Benjamin Franklin was approached by a woman as he left the Constitutional Convention. She asked: “What have you given us?” Franklin is said to have replied: “A republic, if you can keep it.” YOU have been given the power to work with your state government to reign in the central government at ZERO RISK! But first you must gain control of your own state. The states are a component part of the "federal government." It is the sovereign states, working with the people, that
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B-14 | Common Sense News | April 2014
COLORADO FCCLA Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) is a national Career and Technical Student Organization that provides personal growth, leadership development, and career preparation opportunities for students in Family and Consumer Sciences education. FCCLA is the Ultimate Leadership Experience. The mission of Family, Career and Community Leaders of America is to promote personal growth and leadership development through Family and Consumer Sciences education. Focusing on the multiple roles of family member, wage earner and community leader, members develop skills for life through character development; creative and critical thinking; interpersonal communications; practical knowledge; and career preparation. FCCLA reaches all 50 states and 3 U.S. territories including, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Washington D.C. Any student who is taking or has taken a course, determined by the
By: Colorado FCCLA
state department of education as comprehensive or occupational Family and Consumer Sciences through grade 12 shall be eligible for active membership in an organized chapter within the school. Because FCCLA’s main focus is the family, we believe in strengthening the function of the family as a basic unit of society. In fact, that is one of FCCLA’s eight purposes. The other eight purposes are as follows: 1. Provide opportunities for personal development and preparation for adult life; 2. Strengthen the function of the family as a basic unit of society; 3. Encourage democracy through cooperative action in the home and community; 4. Encourage individual and group involvement in helping achieve global cooperation and harmony;
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5. Promote greater understanding between youth and adults; 6. Provide opportunities for making decisions and for assuming responsibilities;
information on National FCCLA, please feel free to visit the national website, fcclainc.org. If you would like more information on Colorado FCCLA, please contact coloradofccla@gmail.com http://coloradofccla.blogspot.com
7. Prepare for the multiple roles of men and women in today's society; 8. Promote Family and Consumer Sciences and related occupations. With eight national programs, FCCLA covers a diverse range of issues. Some of the issues that FCCLA focuses on range from stopping violence in families, schools, and communities through the national program STOP (Students taking on Prevention) the Violence to creating awareness about traffic safety through Families Acting for Community Traffic Safety to empowering youth through Power of One to helping students understand finances through Financial Fitness. Along with these programs, FCCLA allows students to compete through our STAR (Students Taking Action with Recognition) Events to showcase all of the amazing projects they have done throughout the year. These projects could range from Fashion Construction to Entrepreneurship to Chapter Service Showcase. The opportunities with FCCLA are truly endless. If you would like more
BE STILL MY HEART!
We are looking for talented comicbook artists and writers with ideas and articles for a Monthly Comic magazine. articles & Comics will be placed on the web & in print magazine format. interested in joining? It starts by submitting the work, Art or concepts, Possible Articles first. All questions can be sent to: TheHyveFrameMonthly@gmail.com You can download a submission packet @ www.Hyve5Productions.com/About
Deadline is April 30, 2014
wouldn’t fry evenly enough to not be doughy and un-cooked in the center while the outside was perfect. It’s been a work in progress for hundreds of years. Other history surrounding the doughnut dates back to the First World War. Avey mentions in her blog that in the book Glazed America, by Paul Mullins, doughnuts would be handed out to the troops. The morale building treat continued into World War II. The girls who handed them out were called “Doughnut Dollies.” This is probably a book you might want to pick up if you love Doughnuts and America, and many of us do!
"To pull up a chair in a local coffee shop and order a sweet southern treat was simply an act of true community."
The deep fried dough has roots in Jewish culture too. The treat is enjoyed at Hanukkah and is referred to as sufganiyot or bimuelos. And that machine that mass produces doughnuts was invented by a Jewish refugee named Adolf Levitt. Ahhh, thank you Mr. Levitt for the automated doughnut machine for we are grateful. Think about that the next time you’re watching the warm, glazed doughnuts roll past you at a Krispy Kreme, should you have the chance to find one next time you’re traveling in the south.
Continued from page A-12
So I bring this up because at first I thought it odd that the doughnut has become a forbidden treat, it’s almost kind of naughty. Well, that’s the feeling I got anyway as Fitness Frannie , I told you about her earlier, passed me with a surprised look on her face. Yes, I’m enjoying a doughnut! Get over it. Finally, America loves to name a day for everyone so in case you’re wondering National Doughnut Day is officially June 3rd. That gives you time to jump on the trails and exercise yourself silly so you can have one. Or not! That’s the freedom we have in America. We have the freedom to eat doughnuts! Oh you’ll still get the ‘looks’ alright but just look at them and explain that you’re being patriotic and shame them into putting down that tofu, egg white gluten free organic breakfast burrito. Anne Boswell Taylor is a former radio and TV reporter and most recently worked with Richard Randall at AM740 KVOR. She is an Oklahoma native who has called Colorado home for 12 years now. Anne received her degree from Oklahoma State University. She covered the Oklahoma City Bombing of the Murrah Federal Building, witnessed and covered an execution from Oklahoma’s Death Row and was the only reporter embedded with Tulsa Police on a multi-jurisdiction drug warrant sweep. She and her husband Chad are raising an 11 year old daughter named Hannah. They enjoy target shooting as a family and named their new standard Poodle pup, Ruger. Anne, Chad and Hannah also love to visit Chad’s parents’ cattle ranch in Lincoln County, Colorado, helping work cattle as needed. Anne and her family are members of First Pres Church in Colorado Springs.
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Monthly Writing contest How to Submit Your Essay:
Please submit your essay with your name, address, phone number and age category on the top left of the page.
Submission Deadline April 20, 2014 Please enter WRITING CONTEST SUBMISSION into the subject line of your email and send to
editor@commonsensenewsusa.com ALSO Please copy and paste the article into the body of your email. Each entry must have a cover page with the title of the work, the author's name, full mailing address, telephone number and email address. Every subsequent page must carry the title and a page number, but NOT the author's name (to facilitate fair judging).
No entry fee is required. There is no prompt, feel free to write what you like. Please try to keep articles positive.
Rules
Categories
All entries must be original works, in English. Plagiarism, which includes the use of third-party poetry, song lyrics, characters or another person's ideas, without written permission or proper acknowledgment will result in disqualification.
• Youth: Middle School and High School • Adult: 18+
Excessive violence, or sex as determined by the judges, will result in disqualification. Please keep it clean.
Essay Writing Contest Description: This writing contest is free to all and open to any topic apart from the exclusions listed below. The top two winners of each month will be published in Common Sense News. At the discretion of the judges, all well written articles may be published on the website. In order to publish the article, Common Sense News must reserve First Rights on all submissions. All other rights to the article remain the property of the author.
Entries may not have been previously published in professional media. To be eligible, entries must be works of prose, from 600-800 words in length. All entries must be need to be single-spaced, with numbered pages in MS Word Article contest runs every month. To be eligible for the following month's contest, your submission must be received by midnight (PST) on the last day of the 20th of each month. (Submissions for the writing contest for May must be received by midnight on April 20, 2014. Each entrant may submit only one article per contest. All entries are final. No revisions are accepted. The decisions of the judges are entirely their own, and are final. At the discretion of the judges, all well written articles may be published on the Website.
Winners will be notified April 30 via email
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