Free Republic

A glam-metal rocker is bucking the Greeley Stampede, vowing to use the band's gig there Saturday to educate fans about "rodeo cruelty." "I had no idea that this gig included a rodeo," Poison drummer Rikki Rockett, an animal-rights crusader for 16 years, said in a statement. The 86-year-old Greeley tradition bills itself as the "World's Largest 4th of July Rodeo." "I am blown away that I missed the description of this show on our touring schedule," said the 46-year-old Rockett, whose real name is Richard Ream. "I have a huge problem with animal cruelty at rodeos," said the drummer, who...

As Denver dignitaries gathered today for Mayor John Hickenlooper's State of the City address, City Council President Michael Hancock introduced singer Rene Marie to perform the national anthem. But that's not what she did. Instead, Marie performed the song "Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing," which also is known as the "black national anthem." When she finished, the proceedings moved forward, and the "Star-Spangled Banner" was never performed.

A 17-year-old plunged his car off the summit of Pikes Peak this afternoon, in authorities said appeared to be a suicide attempt. The teen's 1985 Nissan Maxima plunged more than 1,000 feet down the ravine strewn with boulders and skree. He pulled himself from the wreckage, but it took hours for local rescuers and military helicopters to make the daring rescue. "We've had rain, we've had snow, we've had lightning popping around us all day," Steve Sperry, spokesman for El Paso County Search and Rescue, said by cellphone shortly after the teen-ager was lifted from the mountain by a Chinook...

Stuck, lost and hobbled in the German Alps, a quick-thinking Colorado Springs woman hooked her bra to a mountainside supply line, which alerted rescuers to her whereabouts just as they were giving up the search. "We're going to have a party for her every June 19, and give her some new bras," Elana Bruinsma, said Monday morning of her sister, Jessica Bruinsma, 24. The white sports bra has become the talk of the Berchtesgaden area of Germany near the Austria border.

Censorship. Book burning. The Criminalization of Christianity. It's here and it's now the law in the state of Colorado. The Ku Klux Klan can march. The Nazis can hand out brochures. Skinheads can do whatever it is that Skinheads do. But in the state of Colorado, the only group who is NOT allowed to be heard is … the Christians. They're the ones who disagree with same-sex marriage, cohabitation, and believe the biblical view that homosexuality is a sin. But if they voice that objection from now on, it had better be inside the four walls of a church. If...

The Denver Post ran a column by Al Lewis that questioned the need to enact a Right to Work law in Colorado and the reaction has been visceral. Dozens of citizens have taken it upon themselves to teach Mr. Lewis a thing or two about the unfairness of forced unionism. A sample of the reaction: * . . . I am 72 years old and had been in the work force for 50 years prior to my employment with the City of Boulder and this is the FIRST time that I have ever been in a union. $10.00 a month...

BOULDER (KWGN) -- Some residents of Boulder are upset over how the Police Department handled the city's naked bike ride Saturday. Being naked in public is illegal in Boulder, yet police did nothing about it. The story is being compared to the Catholic priest who was just convicted last week of jogging naked in public in Frederick, Colorado. Robert Whipkey was convicted by a Weld County jury of indecent exposure for jogging naked in the middle of the night around a high school track. Yet ,last Saturday in Boulder, more than 60 men and women, many of them stark naked,...

You might have heard about the Colorado "Restroom Chaos" law signed by Governor Bill Ritter a couple of weeks ago. It allows men who "think" they're women or "feel" like women to use the ladies restrooms and locker rooms. But apparently the law had some more bad stuff in the fine print: politically incorrect Biblical truth has been outlawed in Colorado outside the walls of the church.

NEW YORK (Fortune) -- You'd think this would be oil shale's moment. You'd think with gas prices topping $4 and consumers crying uncle, Congress would be moving fast to spur development of a domestic oil resource so vast - 800 billion barrels of recoverable oil shale in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming alone - it could eventually rival the oil fields of Saudi Arabia. You'd think politicians would be tripping over themselves to arrange photo-ops with Harold Vinegar (whom I profiled in Fortune last November), the brilliant, Brooklyn-born chief scientist at Royal Dutch Shell whose research cracked the code on how...

Ward Churchill is baaaaack! by: Deborah Lambert, June 05, 2008 Although Ward Churchill was finally fired by the University of Colorado, Boulder for plagiarism and dishonest scholarship rather than his 9-11 remarks, you'd never know it from his website at www.wardchurchill.net, aka the “Ward Churchill Solidarity Network,” dedicated to “Defending Academic Freedom and Political Dissent.” The site includes a petition to reinstate Ward Churchill, and a statement of support from Noam Chomsky....

Today is June 1, 2008. A year ago we were anticipating the arrival of my grandson. So much has happened since then, and yet the battle is still the same. Heavenly Father, we thank and praise You for Your gracious and loving mercy. We thank You that You do not see our failures because of Your love for us and the blood covering of Christ over us. Father we ask for Your strength and that You will move in the heavenlies, causing a movement in the earth. Father God, move things in the state of Colorado, where they fight for...

How can any logical person think this is a good idea? Colorado Governor Bill Ritter, a Democrat, signed Senate Bill 200, which essentially let’s any man who says he’s really a woman, use the women’s facilities in public places. By facilities, I mean the restroom and locker room: The bill initially outlines requirements for the Colorado Civil Rights Commission and also bans discrimination based on sexual orientation for things like housing, car insurance, funeral services and public accommodation. The bill also extends bans on discrimination, where previously unwritten, for things like race, creed, color, religion, disability, sex, sexual orientation, marital...

Brightly colored women's thong underwear disguised the identities of two men during the robbery of an Arvada Diamond Shamrock earlier this month. Arvada police believe two Latinos entered the gas station at 6802 Wadsworth Blvd. just before 5 a.m. on May 16, donning the underwear over their faces and demanding cash from the clerk on duty.

Ritter signed Senate Bill 200 this afternoon in his office, without any of the public ceremonies and news releases that came with six other bills he signed today. His spokesman, Evan Dreyer, said the governor was not deliberately trying to keep the signing quiet. In all, Ritter signed 20 bills today, Dreyer said.

Mr. McCain has launched a Spanish-language Web site, aired TV spots in Spanish emphasizing his military service and, at a Cinco de Mayo event in Phoenix, declared "everything about our Hispanic voters is tailor-made to the Republican message." Gil Cisneros of the Republican National Hispanic Assembly of Colorado, who is vice chairman of the McCain campaign in the state, said the Arizona senator has a reputation among Hispanics as patriotic, family-oriented and moderate on immigration. He said Mr. McCain's sponsorship of last year's failed legislation to create a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants will be a strong selling point.

The National Weather Service has issued a tornado warning for West Central Weld County and East Centrla Larimer County until 1 p.m. today. A tornado already has touched down in Gilcrest and Milliken, and there are reports that the storm has caused heavy damage near Promontory in west Greeley. The Weather Serivce tracked a large tornado three miles southwest of the New Windsor reservoir, eight miles east of Fort Collins. The National Weather Service reports that the safest place to be is in the basement. Get under a work bench or other piece of sturdy furniture. If there is no...

When: Labor Day Weekend August 29-31 2008. Where: Three Kings, Denver, CO. What to Expect: The tribe uniting. The elite inebriates finding each other. The best and the booziest. Ever go to a bar and wish there were some real g-----n boozers on board? Well, there are for three solid days of heavy drinking and full-bore entertainment including: • Bands (TBA) Rest assured they will be of the hard-drinking variety. • Burlesque Scantily-clad women, old-school style. • Soused Seminars Booze-related knowledge you can absorb at your leisure. • Drunkard Dating Game Romantic hangover brunch at a filthy dive bar with...

It was a night filled with costumes, kegs, and partying. One problem, it took place at the Colorado Governor's Mansion. photos posted on the internet show Governor Bill Ritter's 22-year-old son August Ritter III drinking from a keg at a recent masquerade party held at the historic home. The other picture shows August Ritter and an unidentified female playing around with the state flag. An invitation, reading, "Mansion Masquerade-Because Life is Too Tasty Not to Party"-

Big snow equals big lines, but avy hazards linger. It ain’t over ‘til it’s over. That’s what diehard skiers are saying this year, milking every last drop of pleasure from a a winter that just won’t seem to end... some of the best skiing of the season ... where winter-like snow lingers in the steepest notches and chutes. The relatively dense spring snow settles more quickly than mid-winter powder, and this is prime-time for the hike-to terrain. “It was sweet,” Local backcountry skiers are talking about big lines on big peaks, with solid top-to-bottom coverage on favorites like Buffalo Mountain...

Give retiring U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo a job at The Onion! The Littleton Republican got such a chuckle out of a Rocky story this morning about the University of Colorado's $9 million plan to bring high-profile political conservatives to teach on the left-leaning Boulder campus that he jokingly threw his hat in the ring. "I should be the clear favorite for the job," Tancredo said — tongue firmly in cheek — in a news release announcing he'd sent in his application. "Who doesn't want a slightly used Congressman, with a 98% lifetime rating from the American Conservative Union, educating their...

MATTERS OF LIFE AND DEATH 131,000 Coloradans endorse 'personhood' plan Ballot initiative would extend constitution's protections to pre-born Posted: May 13, 2008 9:41 pm Eastern © 2008 WorldNetDaily Kristi Burton, spokeswoman for Colorado for Equal Rights, and her mother announcing more than 131,000 Coloradans want a personhood amendment on the 2008 election ballot More than 131,000 Coloradans have endorsed a plan to put an initiative on the fall 2008 election ballot that would allow voters to extend the U.S. Constitution's protections to those who haven't been born yet, something supporters say the U.S. founders intended all along. In a campaign...

Unlicensed drivers would see their cars impounded under a Denver ballot measure that opponents say targets illegal immigrants. The proposed ordinance states: "Unlicensed drivers including illegal aliens are not eligible for auto insurance and pose a significant danger to the people of the city and county of Denver when driving and must be prevented from doing so in every way possible." Backers have gathered enough signatures to have the item placed on the ballot in August should City Council members choose not to adopt it. At least one council member is opposed. Bruce Wright, identified in documents submitted to the...

In a breach of the local code of ethics -- and possibly the law -- 32 are killed after straying onto a neighbor's land.FAIRPLAY, COLO. -- This is not a place where buffalo are welcome to roam. When 32 bison lumbered across a fence that separated their owners' vast, wind-swept expanse of land from a neighboring ranch in March, they ended up dead. Some fell where they were shot. Others scattered, galloping for miles before they succumbed in the snow. They were victims, contend the bison's owners, of a murder plot hatched by the neighbor, a Texan frustrated by what...

A heavy spring snowstorm moved across Colorado on May Day and was expected to dump up to 16 inches of snow in the high country. Wintry weather was blamed for a rash of minor accidents that closed westbound Interstate 70 for about 90 minutes just west of Denver on Thursday. "There's a lot of slide-offs, fender-bender types," State Patrol Master Trooper Ron Watkins said. "There's nothing like serious injuries or anything, but it caused the road to be closed." Watkins said up to 40 cars were involved in minor accidents on U.S. 36 near Lyons, 30 miles northwest of Denver....

The matchup was inevitable. For the past two months, House Speaker Andrew Romanoff ... His complex proposal would undo the tightest part of that knot by lifting the spending limits imposed by the 1992 Taxpayer's Bill of Rights... Rep. Douglas Bruce, R-Colorado Springs,... "For this purpose, I come before you as the author of the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights, and as is my wont, I will speak plainly," he began. "This measure, if adopted, will mean unlimited state spending forever." Bruce railed against what he saw as a conspiracy by the "tax-and-spend crowd" to "con" voters into giving up government...

DENVER -- Lawmakers in the state are trying to determine what kind of action will be taken against Republican Rep. Douglas Bruce after he was ordered to leave the podium of the Colorado House of Representatives for saying that Colorado doesn't need "5,000 more illiterate peasants." Bruce made the comment Monday during a debate on a bill that would allow the state to help immigrant workers get temporary visas from the federal government. Rep. Kathleen Curry, D-Gunnison, who was chairing the floor debate, ordered Bruce to leave the speaker's podium after saying, "How dare you?" Bruce denied later he was...

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- A 33-year-old Colorado Springs woman who may have sparked a massive child-protection raid at a polygamist compound in Texas kept a steady job and gave no hint of her activities to those closest to her. "She is the last person I would expect to do something like this," said a woman in her mid-20s who described herself as the roommate of Rozita Swinton. Speaking at the door of their apartment, the roommate described Swinton as a steady, soft-hearted person. But growing evidence indicates Swinton repeatedly made calls to authorities in multiple jurisdictions, setting off large emergency...

"Nine, eight, seven ..." A crowd of about 10,000 people collectively began counting down on the University of Colorado's Norlin Quadrangle just before 4:20 p.m. Sunday. Yet the massive puff of pot smoke that hovers over CU's Boulder campus every April 20 -- the date of an annual, internationally recognized celebration of marijuana -- began rising over the sea of heads earlier than normal this year. "Oh forget it," one student said, aborting the countdown to 4:20 p.m. and lighting his pipe early. He closed his eyes, taking a deep, long drag. "Sweet." Although it's become an annual and renowned...

"Texas Rangers participated in the arrest of a Colorado woman who allegedly pretended to be a girl locked in a basement. The Rangers were in the state as part of their investigation into the Texas polygamy custody battle, local police told ABC News. It was unclear if the arrest was related to the phone call from a woman who claimed to be a 16-year-old girl, a phone call that sparked what has become one of the largest child custody cases in U.S. history. "

Gov. Bill Ritter paid more than $200,000 in campaign expenses out of his inaugural account in violation of campaign-finance laws, his office announced today as March disclosures come due. Ritter has put up his home as collateral on a $200,000 loan to repay the misspent funds...

Perched on a lonesome bluff above the dusty San Pedro River, about 30 miles east of Tucson, the ancient stone ruin archaeologists call the Davis Ranch Site doesn’t seem to fit in. Staring back from the opposite bank, the tumbled walls of Reeve Ruin are just as surprising. Some 700 years ago, as part of a vast migration, a people called the Anasazi, driven by God knows what, wandered from the north to form settlements like these, stamping the land with their own unique style. “Salado polychrome,” says a visiting archaeologist turning over a shard of broken pottery. Reddish on...

Heavenly Father we thank and praise You that You are raising up Your people to send out the battle cry against the killing fields of the abortuaries across the country. Father, we thank You for those who have stood in prayer, and those who are doing sidewalk counseling in front of Planned Parenthoods across this country. Father continue to strengthen and energize them, protecting them in the battle they are waging. Father we thank You for raising up people to bring forth legislation that protects the lives of ALL the unborn. Father we bring up the issues in Colorado in...

His movie chronicled the trial of the Chicago Seven, the free-wheeling activists whose protests during the 1968 Democratic National Convention prompted a police riot and became a touchstone for the movement to end the war in Vietnam. (The "10" in the title includes co-defendent Bobby Seale and the two lawyers who defended them, William Kunstler and Leonard Weinglass.) .... A year later, "Chicago 10" was the opening-night film at Sundance '07. The movie was sold to Roadside Attractions, which at first pushed for an August '07 release. But the political climate didn't seem ready for the movie, Morgen said. "There...

Federal immigration agent Cory Voorhis sat at the defense table in federal court Tuesday, but opening statements by his lawyer indicated that the legal team would try to put the actions of Gov. Bill Ritter and the city of Denver on trial. Bill Taylor, attorney for the special agent, said his client was "shocked, angered, and yes, bewildered" when he read statements by Ritter, then a candidate for governor, in an August 2006 newspaper article saying that when he was Denver district attorney, his office had always been tough on illegal immigration. Voorhis' experience as an immigration agent, and as...

A 50-vehicle pileup has closed I-70 in both directions at mile marker 195 on Vail Pass. The initial accident occurred on the westbound side of I-70 at mile marker 189 in Eagle County. The eastbound lane has also been closed at this time to allow emergency vehicles to access the scene. According to dispatch, there are numerous injuries and several possible amputations. There has been a mutual aid request for backup and many patients are being transported to St. Anthony's Summit Medical Center for treatment. "So far we have one patient in critical condition and two more patients just arrived...

Blaring at readers from newspapers across the nation was continuing evidence of the press' obsession for benchmarks of servicemen who've sacrificed their lives in Iraq, as if the 3,999th soldier to die -- or for that matter, the first -- merited no mention. This issue isn't about freedom of the press. It's about journalistic ethics. The media circle like vultures waiting for the next lapse in government accountability, but demands virtually unlimited freedom to use anonymous sources. Who polices the "policemen of democracy?" Why, they do, of course, creating their own rules of conduct (such as "Deliberate distortion is never...

RIYADH, 28 March 2008 — Shoura Council Chairman Dr. Saleh Bin-Humaid has urged US authorities to review the case of Homaidan Al-Turki, a 37-year-old Saudi student who was found guilty in a Colorado state court of 12 counts of sexually assaulting his Indonesian maid. “The Saudi people sympathize with Homaidan Al-Turki and they closely follow up his case,” the Shoura chief said and hoped for a speedy end to the issue. He also emphasized the Kingdom’s respect for American justice. Al-Turki, a former Ph.D. student at the University of Colorado, maintains that he did not sexually assault the woman, whose...

Is that building at Colfax Avenue and Bannock Street still Denver City Hall, or have council members formally renamed it Denver Union Hall? If not, the rechristening may not be far off. After all, kowtowing to union interests has gotten so pronounced that one council member objected last week to a proposed contract with a company to manage airport parking for fear that its modest management fee signified a covert plan to cut union staffing. "That raised my eyebrows, and right away I thought that I hope that doesn't come on the backs of the employees," said councilman Paul Lopez.

The number of suspected salmonella cases linked to contaminated tap water in Alamosa, Colorado exceeded 200 Sunday. Of 216 reported cases, 68 were confirmed by lab results, public information officer Jim Shires said. health officials said may be caused by the municipal water system. Health officials said the Alamosa tap water tested positive for bacteria believed to be salmonella, but are awaiting final confirmation. Authorities said the first victim began showing symptoms around March 8. State emergency management officials activated an emergency operations center in the Denver suburb of Centennial to help coordinate deliveries of bottled water. “The risk that...

Cory Voorhis Bobby Marchetti and the Celebration Orchestra Rep. Tom Tancredo Bob Haworth - formerly with the Kingston Trio Silent Auction Support Cory's Legal Defense! Have fun! Ballroom (and other) dancing! Sunday, March 23, 2008, 4-8 pm Buffalo Rose, 1119 Washington Ave, Golden

Colorado's two largest newspapers and Elitch Gardens will host the biggest party of the 2008 Democratic National Convention, officials announced today. "This is going to be one of the biggest events ever in the city of Denver," Host Committee President Elbra Wedgeworth said. The Denver Post and the Rocky Mountain News, through the Denver Newspaper Agency, will pay to host the so-called media party and will invite the 15,000 members of the media, the more than 6,000 delegates and alternates, and assorted Democratic VIPs. Partygoers will be treated to Colorado and southwest cuisine as well as cotton candy and snow...

The Greeley rally was held today with the spirit of D.C. in attendance. We had some V.F.W. Warriors with us and the honks were plenty.

Gun instructors, sellers cite politics, rash of shootings Jefferson County is seeing a startling rise in applications for concealed gun permits. Between March 1 and 11, the Jeffco sheriff's office received 246 applications from residents who want to carry firearms. That's five times the number of applications submitted for the entire month of March 2007, according to the sheriff's office. Since Jan. 1, the sheriff's office has received more than 500 concealed-carry applications, almost as many as all of 2006. Statewide, applications have risen nearly 50 percent between 2006 and 2007. Tiffany Morgan, a college student and part-time employee at...

COLORADO SPRINGS — Applications for concealed-weapon permits have skyrocketed in Colorado, with the increase fueled by everything from heavily publicized mass shootings to routine renewals, according to the state's sheriffs. In 2007, 9,880 people statewide sought permits, compared with 6,649 people in 2006 and 6,670 people in 2005, according to the County Sheriffs of Colorado. And the surge has continued into 2008 in several counties. Law-enforcement experts have different ideas on why more people want to carry concealed weapons. Some believe it is due to a rash of violent outbreaks at Virginia Tech, Northern Illinois University and a mall in...

Do you think the cost of the Iraq war thus far has been worth it? (Read the story.) Total Votes = 384 Yes No I don't know

I have a mortgage on my Colorado primary residence with Bank of America, which is apparently a California company. The enforcement section of the CA FTB has sent me an enforcement letter, We received information that you made martgage payments to B of A, N.A. during 2006. The mortagage interest you paid indicates that you may have sufficient income to have a filing requirement for the 2006 tax year. We checked our records and are unable to locate your 2006 California income tax return. ... FYI I am a COLORADO resident, (employed in Colorado, living in Colorado, paid in Colorado,...

Colorado health officials estimate that it will cost $5 million to launch an emergency water-pumping program next week to avert a potential catastrophic blowout at an old mine tunnel here. Such an event could send a toxic brew laced with heavy metals into the Arkansas River and harm hundreds of people in this historic mountain community. Jim Martin, executive director of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, told townspeople Friday the state will do everything it can to jump-start a response plan that includes pumping water out of the tunnel to relieve pressure and to treat the water...

University of Colorado regents on Wednesday selected Bruce Benson as the school's 22nd president, shelving concerns about his academic credentials and partisan background and instead funneling hope to his pledge to fix the school's financial problems.

Houston-based ConocoPhillips plans to build a new Global Technology Center and Corporate Learning Center on the 432-acre campus, which it recently purchased from Sun Microsystems. The technology center will serve as a hub for the company's research and development of renewable energy and high-tech carbon-fuels recovery.