Free Republic

I just got back from the Tea Party Demonstration at Fort Collins, Colorado. The major topic of the event was opposition to the Health Care Bill which is under imminent consideration by the Senate. I estimated the peak crowd size at 900-1100 people. One of the organizers said she was very pleased with the size and duration of the turnout. The crowd was civilized and appreciative toward the speakers. There were plenty of home-made signs and flags among the participants and an organized sale of campaign buttons, T-shirts, and other paraphernalia did a modest business. “Joe the Plumber” spoke on...

Special Alert from the Traveling Press Room of the Tea Party Express II...CONTACT: Levi Russell - levi@FrontLineStrat.com or 509.979.6615 JOE THE PLUMBER TO FLY OUT FOR COLORADO "TEA PARTY EXPRESS" RALLIES ON TUESDAY, NOV. 3RDWe are pleased to announce that Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher - famously known to most Americans as "Joe The Plumber" - will be joining the Tea Party Express tomorrow as our convoy heads through Colorado and holds rallies in Ft. Collins and Denver.Here are the details of the Colorado tea party rallies that will take place on Tuesday, November 3rd:FT. COLLINS, CO - 2:00 PMWashington Park...

<p>Need some FReeper help! The Tea Party Express is coming to Wyoming & Colorado on Wednesday for a series of tea party rallies and we're working hard in the short time that remains to get the word out and build up the sizes of the crowds.</p>

SCOTTSBLUFF - Light snow continues to fall over much of Nebraska's Panhandle, further hampering travelers already blocked by highway closures. The slow-moving snowstorm made road travel into Colorado and Wyoming all but impossible Thursday morning. The Nebraska Roads Department says Interstate 80 was closed west of Big Springs, all the way to Laramie, Wyo. At the north end of the Panhandle, U.S. Highway 20 was closed west of Crawford. In several spots Wednesday, cars and other vehicles had spun off slick roadways. But a Nebraska State Patrol dispatcher in Scottsbluff said Thursday that no fatalities had been reported. Authorities say...

Stephanie Villafuerte, nominee for Colorado U.S. attorney, owes the public some answers. A Denver Post story published Friday raised questions about Villafuerte's involvement in the response by Bill Ritter's campaign to the controversial accessing of a restricted law enforcement database in the heat of the 2006 gubernatorial campaign. Over the past two years, Villafuerte has declined requests from The Post to describe her contact with former colleagues at the Denver District Attorney's office around the time the database was accessed. But the Senate Judiciary Committee needs to ask her about it. The public deserves to know more details about the...

DENVER (Reuters) – The mother of a Colorado boy thought to be aboard a homemade helium balloon has admitted to investigators the whole thing was a hoax, according to a court document made public on Friday. ... "The motive for the fabricated story was to make the Heene family more marketable for future media interest," the affidavit states. The document also says the Heenes, who had starred in the reality television show "Wife Swap," had devised the hoax about two weeks before and had instructed their three children to lie to authorities and the media.

DENVER — The mother of the 6-year-old boy once feared missing inside a runaway helium balloon admitted the whole saga was a hoax, according to court documents released Friday. Mayumi Heene told sheriff's deputies that she and her husband Richard "knew all along that Falcon was hiding in the residence" in Fort Collins, according to an affidavit used to get a search warrant for the home.

The new Interior Department looks into a move to lock in beneficial royalties and regulations for companies with leases on public lands -- denounced by some as a massive giveaway to the oil industry. Reporting from Washington - The Obama Interior Department is reviewing a decision made by the Bush administration in its final days that attempted to lock in lucrative royalty rates and favorable regulations for oil companies holding leases for oil shale development on public lands.

Hundreds of people have been arrested in Texas and around the country what officials say is the largest single strike at a Mexican drug cartel in the U.S WASHINGTON (October 22, 2009)—U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder calls the arrests of more than 300 people in a series of drug raids in Texas and across the country the largest single strike at a Mexican drug cartel operating here. Holder said at a news conference Thursday that the arrests over the past two days were aimed at the U.S. operations of the La Familia cartel. Click here to find out more! Holder...

SNIPPET: “DENVER — A Colorado man whose son is accused of plotting a terror attack in New York City is scheduled to go to trial in December on a charge of lying to investigators. A federal judge on Tuesday scheduled a 10-day trial for Mohammed Wali Zazi starting Dec. 7 in U.S. District Court in Denver.”

FORT COLLINS, Colo. – A sheriff says a Colorado couple's report that their 6-year-old son was in a balloon that was hurtling away from their home was a publicity stunt. Sheriff Jim Alderden says Richard and Mayumi Heene "put on a very good show for us, and we bought it." The sheriff says no charges have been filed yet, and the parents aren't under arrest. But he says he expects to recommend charges of conspiracy and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

It was a beautiful fall day for a protest here in Colorado. Sunny and warm. I'd say there were about 100 protestors in all. It would have been nice to have a larger turnout - just saying. But a good time was had by all. The plan of action was to assemble outside of the local NBC affiliate and then march down to the ABC affiliate down the street. Press coverage of the event was a joke. No surprises there.

FORT COLLINS, Colo. – A Colorado sheriff said he was pursuing criminal charges in the case of a 6-year-old boy who vanished into the rafters of his garage while the world thought he was zooming through the sky in a flying saucer-like helium balloon. The boy's parents, Richard and Mayumi Heene, met with Larimer County investigators for much of the afternoon, but Sheriff Jim Alderden didn't say who would be charged or what the charges would be. Alderden didn't call Thursday's hours-long drama a hoax, but he expressed disappointment that he couldn't level more serious charges in the incident, which...

The Greeley 9.12 Project held operation "Can You Hear Us Now " in front of our local news paper the Greeley Tribune today.

The Larimer County Sheriff says criminal charges are likely expected to be filed against Richard Heene. Heene is the Fort Collins man who reported his 6-year-old son missing in a helium-filled balloon on Thursday. The sheriff did not give specific charges, but said they would likely be a class 3 misdemeanor, which could be false reporting. The sheriff's office is working on getting a search warrant to search the Heene home and is planning a news conference Sunday at 11 a.m. Richard Heene and his wife Mayumi were interviewed by investigators Saturday.

A sheriff’s office that helped chase down a saucer-shaped balloon that officials feared was carrying a six-year-old boy over Colorado is now considering billing the child’s family hundreds of thousands of dollars to pay for a rescue effort that turned out to be needless, Canwest News Service reports: A spokeswoman for the Weld County Sheriff’s Office said all of the county’s on-duty resources were expended in the balloon chase Thursday, which ended when the sliver, UFO-likecontraption floated to the ground without a child aboard. It was later discovered the child was hiding in the attic of his family’s garage. Deputy...

Speculation is mounting that the story of six-year-old American boy Falcon Heene who was feared to have floated away on a home-made weather balloon was a hoax organised by his family to gain publicity.

For several hours Thursday afternoon, Americans were riveted to their television sets, having been told that a 6-year-old boy might be inside an accidentally-launched homemade balloon as it soared out of control across the skies of Colorado. Today, “news” of another runaway balloon spotted in the skies above Washington, D.C., is attracting much less concern. This cartoon, from my friend David Donar at Political Graffiti, tells the story.

The Projects - Colorado Springs style The Colorado Springs Housing Authority owns more than 350+ properties. Observe the City wants to TRIPLE the property taxes of private property owners; while these City-owed rental properties are Tax-Exempt. 16-OCT-2009 El Paso County Parcel 6311110002 From the comments on this story [facade] propped up by the Colorado Springs Gazette http://www.gazette.com/articles/city-63798-government-story.html valueappraiser wrote: wm25burke.... You mentioned multi-family community development.... Here is an example of just one of the city owned residential properties...7220 Austin Bluffs Parkway...80 units in 8 buildings on 4.08 acres. These units were constructed in the year 2000 and purchased new by...

FORT COLLINS, Colo. — The 6-year-old Colorado boy thought to have floated off in a homemade balloon has raised questions whether it might have been a family stunt. During a live interview on CNN, Falcon Heene said he heard his family calling his name as he hid in the rafters of their garage. At the time, there was a frantic effort to bring down the balloon safely. Falcon's father asked, "Why didn't you come out?" The boy answered, "You had said we did this for a show." After the CNN interview, the father said he didn't know what his son...

Demure Delaware was the first state to ratify the Con stitution, but since then has not made many waves. It might, however, be part of a political wave a year from now, thanks to a direct descendent of Benjamin Franklin. The great man's great-great-great-great-great grandson, Mike Castle, 70, a nine-term Delaware congressman, will be next year's Republican nominee for the Senate seat Joe Biden held for 36 years. This and other candidate-recruitment successes make it reasonable for Republicans to hope that in January 2011 the Senate will contain fewer than 60 Democrats. Biden's seat is now occupied by a former...

Frustrated parents of a big infant who is being denied insurance view the system as "absurd." Alex Lange is a chubby, dimpled, healthy and happy 4-month-old. But in the cold, calculating numbered charts of insurance companies, he is fat. That's why he is being turned down for health insurance. And that's why he is a weighty symbol of a problem in the health care reform debate. Insurance companies can turn down people with pre-existing conditions who aren't covered in a group health care plan. Alex's pre-existing condition — "obesity" — makes him a financial risk. Health insurance reform measures are...

Did President Obama deserve the Nobel Peace Prize? Yes Maybe someday but not yet Don't know No

Fourth quarter. The Colorado defense holds the Horns and punting team comes in. But Colorado fails to take advantage of their possession and punts. But much to the delight of the Longhorn fans Shipley takes the punt return down field 74 yards for a TOUCHDOWN! Texas 31, Colorado 14. “First of all, I want to give God the glory for the win tonight and for the opportunity to play,” Shipley said. “I’m having so much fun on that team right now because we have 10 guys out there that are just working their tails off to make those things go....

Regulators have shut Warren Bank in Warren, Mich., and two small banks in Colorado and Minnesota, boosting the number of failed U.S. banks this year to 98 as loan defaults rise in the worst financial climate in decades. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. took over Warren Bank, with about $538 million in assets and $501 million in deposits as of July 31. The Huntington National Bank, based in Columbus, Ohio, agreed to assume the deposits and about $83 million of the assets of the failed bank. The FDIC will retain the remaining assets for later disposition. Warren Bank's six branches...

Every Sunday, after church, the 7-year-old boy would escape to Grandpa's basement. He'd never seen such a room -- trophies and game balls and jerseys and photos and videotapes, all at his disposal. He'd heard about a place called heaven, a magical place they raved about in Bible school, and he decided this had to be it. It had to be. Because his father was here. One of those trophies … his daddy won. One of those game balls … his daddy earned. One of those jerseys … his daddy wore. One of those photos … his daddy's face. Stacks...

The snow is flying across the portions of the Colorado Rockies above 6,500 feet. The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Watch for tonight into Wednesday afternoon. Snowfall

DENVER, Colo. -- Fall officially starts Tuesday at 3:19 p.m., but it will feel a little more like winter in some spots. Tuesday will start off chilly. Temperatures will dip into the 30s in some spots, spurring a FREEZE WARNING for the western slope and Palmer Divide. This warning is in effect until 9 a.m. Tuesday. A strong cold front roared into Colorado on Monday morning and brought an abrupt end to the lovely summer weather over the weekend. Temperatures took a dive from the 80s to the upper 30s over the Metro area and rain was mixed with snow....

Douglas County, Colorado has three streams running from South to North. The Cherry Creek, East Plum Creek and West Plum Creek all eventually flow into the Platte River and the water then makes its way down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico. Many of Colorado’s first settlers made their homesteads on these three rivers. The West Plum Creek ends at Sedalia, Colorado, founded in 1865. This land along the West Plum Creek is Horse Country as it has been for over 140 years. On Saturday September 19th, the Douglas County Republicans held their annual picnic. They chose the Wiens...

Douglas County, Colorado has three streams running from South to North. The Cherry Creek, East Plum Creek and West Plum Creek all eventually flow into the Platte River and the water then makes its way down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico. Many of Colorado’s first settlers made their homesteads on these three rivers. The West Plum Creek ends at Sedalia, Colorado, founded in 1865. This land along the West Plum Creek is Horse Country as it has been for over 140 years. On Saturday September 19th, the Douglas County Republicans held their annual picnic. They chose the Wiens...

Next year’s U.S. Senate race in Colorado is a lot more crowded this week, and incumbent Michael Bennet has some serious competition on hand. A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Colorado voters finds Bennet trailing former Republican Lieutenant Governor Jane Norton 45% to 36%. Norton formally announced her candidacy on Tuesday. In that contest, seven percent (7%) like some other candidate, and 12% are undecided. Another newcomer, former state House Speaker Andrew Romanoff, is expected to announce his candidacy today (Wednesday), challenging Bennet for the Democratic Senate nomination next year. In a match-up with Norton, the highest profile Republican...

Just a few facts about our organizational efforts for this teaparty:I spent two months and approx. 205 volunteer hours planning this event. All time donated for free. I also spent $520.00 out of pocket for the sound and light system rental, batteries, and blank CD's.

BULLETIN -- NEW YORK POLICE AND FBI RAID HOMES IN QUEENS IN TERRORISM INVESTIGATION.6 minutes ago from BNO Headquarters

DENVER (CBS4) Coloradans who couldn't make it to Washington, D.C. held two rallies at the State Capitol Saturday to protest health care reform and other issues. One rally was held in the afternoon and one was held at night. The protesters listened to an audio recording of the nation's founding documents and rallied around the principles stated in the Constitution. They sang patriotic songs and cheered as a host of speakers spoke about the increasing deficit, rising taxes and growing government. Many of protesters held signs that read "No More Debt" and "Vote Out Clunkers In Congress." "We will not...

video hosted at Fox site

DENVER - "Thousands of Coloradans turned out for a tea party that offered politics and patriotism but no crumpets. They met under the golden dome of the capitol for two rallies - each with flags waving and signs criticizing president Obama and the ruling democrats. "We're fed up with what's going on. And I'm not going to take it anymore," said one speaker to a throng of applause. They say they're fed up with the government's intrusion in health care and billions in stimulus spending. "Primary issue brought out is health care reform being debated right now. Just very concerned...

Crowds also gather in cold rain outside Colorado Capitol By Michael Booth The Denver Post Posted: 09/13/2009 01:00:00 AM MDT A large crowd of Colorado protesters seeking lower taxes and smaller government echoed a Washington, D.C., rally from the steps of the state Capitol on Saturday, with hundreds lingering despite a cold evening rain. Two separate, but largely sympathetic, gatherings in the morning and evening were part of a national movement opposed to what organizers call expensive, socialist-leaning government programs. Signs attacked economic stimulus plans, "Obama care" and tax increases, demanding that government stick to its purely constitutional limits. "We...

This slide show captured most of the signs and faces attached to our evening teaparty in Denver. Just a few facts about our organizational efforts for this teaparty: I spent two months and approx. 205 volunteer hours planning this event. All time donated for free. I also spent $520.00 out of pocket for the sound and light system rental, batteries, and blank CD's. We had a team of people who donated as yet uncounted volunteer hours helping with the logistics of this event. We had pledged donations of $275.00 before the event (I have yet to see any of this...

Wildlife officers with the Colorado Division of Wildlife are searching for a bear involved in an attack Thursday night in Aspen. A man ...was attacked in his home by a bear shortly after 8 p.m. the homeowner's three dogs began barking loudly in the ground floor of the house... When the homeowner went downstairs to check on the dogs, he was confronted by a large, black bear. The victim of this attack is being treated at an area hospital.

Colorado became a symbol of the changing politics in a region once firmly in Republican hands -- and also of the grass-roots power and energy fueling Barack Obama's candidacy. Today, the state embodies the uneasiness spreading throughout Democratic ranks as Obama struggles with major challenges and the 2010 midterm elections approach. Colorado has been one of the Democratic Party's major success stories. Between 1968 and 2004, Republican presidential candidates carried the state in all but one election. Last year, Obama crushed John McCain in Colorado, part of a broader shift in the balance of political power in the Rocky Mountain...

Nationally, Americans are beginning to again trust Republicans over Democrats on taxes and the economy. The overreach in spending and the constant Democratic drum beat of wanting to raise taxes on "the rich" to pay for a massive enlargement -- and engorgement, really -- of big government has dug into the high approval rates that Democrats had enjoyed for well over a year. So, what does the National Republican Senatorial Committee want to do in Colorado? You guessed it, they want to endorse a tax raising, squishy moderate for the GOP nomination for U.S. Senate for the 2010 race. My...

The Drug Enforcement Administration Friday announced that it found 14,500 marijuana plants growing in a Colorado national park, authorities say are linked to Mexican drug cartels...... they have seen an increase in outdoor marijuana operations run by Mexican drug cartels. In the most recent Colorado case, the marijuana was found in "the remote, rugged terrain" of Pike National Forest, which is about 60 miles southwest of Denver. "The persons who were involved in this criminal activity had no regard for the damage caused to the forest and environment by the waste they left behind," said Jeffrey D. Sweetin, special agent...

Police departments in the high country report a rash of bears breaking into cars and homes this summer. Penny Turilli captured video of a bear walking up to her car, parked in her driveway outside her Vail home. The animal opened the door and climbed inside...

DENVER – A federal warning to beware of campers in national forests who eat tortillas, drink Tecate beer and play Spanish music because they could be armed marijuana growers is racial profiling, an advocate for Hispanic rights said Friday. The warnings were issued Wednesday by the U.S. Forest Service, which is investigating how much marijuana is being illegally cultivated in Colorado's national forests following the recent discovery of more than 14,000 plants in Pike National Forest. "That's discriminatory, and it puts Hispanic campers in danger," said Polly Baca, co-chairwoman of the Colorado Latino Forum.

A 24-year-old suspected of vandalizing the Colorado Democratic Party headquarters is free on bail this afternoon. The arrest of Maurice Joseph Schwenkler, known in some circles as the transgendered activist Ariel Attack, sparked chatter on a network of anarchist websites as friends today raised money for bail and legal fees. Schwenkler was released on $5,000 bail and stands accused of felony criminal mischief for allegedly shattering windows at the Colorado Democratic Party headquarters in Denver with the help of a still-at-large accomplice. Pleas on several anarchist sites such as Queers Against Obama and Infoshop News described Schwenkler as a "transgendered...

One of two people suspected of shattering 11 windows Tuesday morning at the state Democratic Party headquarters has an arrest record and a history of helping a Democratic political candidate, public records show. Police said that about 2:20 a.m., 24-year-old Maurice Schwenkler, now in custody, and an at-large accomplice took a hammer to the picture windows displaying posters touting President Barack Obama and his health care reform efforts. Early Tuesday, Democratic Party chairwoman Pat Waak said the damage to her building in Denver's art district was a consequence of "an effort on the other side to stir up hate." She...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvZ11AWMOEY

More than halfway through his first year in the Senate Michael Bennet continues to sport weak approval numbers, Public Policy Polling’s newest Colorado survey finds. Bennet has a 31% approval rating, with 38% of voters in the state disapproving of his job performance. That’s virtually unchanged from a 34/41 breakdown when PPP last polled Colorado in April. 57% of Democrats, 29% of independents, and 9% of Republicans like the job he’s doing. Voters aren’t too fond of his potential Republican opponents for reelection either though. 40% have an unfavorable opinion of former Congressman Bob Beauprez to just 30% favorable. For...