Free Republic

CORRALES, N.M. (KRQE) - Still skiing at age 81, Robert Blake’s family tells KRQE News 13, he died doing what he loved. Rescuers found Blake’s body this weekend in Colorado, and his loyal companion right there with him, refusing to leave his owner’s side. Blake was cross-country skiing over the weekend with his dog, Buddy. His wife said she finds comfort knowing her husband had a friend standing guard until they found him. “I knew Buddy was with him, and would not leave him, I knew that, you know just from my heart,” recalled Marlene Blake. Marlene said that thought...

A Veterans Affairs hospital in Colorado falsified the wait times faced by thousands of its patients—the second VA facility to be found cooking its books in what has become a national scandal—USA Today reports: Clerks at the Department of Veterans Affairs clinic in Fort Collins were instructed last year how to falsify appointment records so it appeared the small staff of doctors was seeing patients within the agency’s goal of 14 days, according to the investigation. A copy of the findings by the VA’s Office of Medical Inspector was provided to USA TODAY. Many of the 6,300 veterans treated at...

HS Students Say Pledge In Arabic: ‘One Nation Under Allah’ Posted on 28 April, 2014 by Rick Wells The principal at Rocky Mountain High School in Fort Collins, Colorado, is facing a hailstorm of criticism from some very angry parents and residents. The school recites the Pledge of Allegiance weekly, on Mondays. Last Monday, a member of their “Cultural Arms Club” led the student body in an Arabic version of the pledge, replacing the words “under God” with “under Allah.” Principal Tom Lopez denies any attempt to push an Islamic agenda, saying, “These students love this country. They were not...

DENVER - Federal agents and local officers are raiding four marijuana businesses tied to an alleged international money-laundering scheme. U.S. marshals arrested a suspect, Gerardo Uribe, a 33-year-old Colombian. Uribe was the last of four suspects arrested under a federal indictment unsealed Monday. The indictment charged Gerardo Uribe and his younger brother, Luis Uribe, along with another Colombian, Hector Diaz, and Denver attorney David Furtado with money-laundering crimes related to the illegal cultivation and distribution of marijuana.

On Tuesday’s The O’Reilly Factor, Bill gives background on a recent incident in which elementary school children were caught selling marijuana to their classmates. Needless to say, O’Reilly is none too pleased. Video...

The school recites the Pledge of Allegiance weekly, on Mondays. Last Monday, the student body recited the pledge in Arabic replacing “under God” with “under Allah.” Parents should demand that principal Tom Lopez of Rocky Mountain High school invite a speaker to inform the children just what the implications are of “nation under Allah”. If they had any clue they would never utter those words again. Further proof of the increasing islamization of our schools. Mind-blowing. Endless concessions and accommodations to Islamic demands only give way to more demands for even more Islam, as shown in the recent blockbuster revelations...

Fracking seems to be an issue at the top of many Coloradans minds in this political climate. It’s almost impossible to turn on a television or the radio (or even youtube for that matter) without hearing about it. Many say that to create a social change you must “train your army before you deploy it” and the most basic army that the left continually uses? Children. It makes sense, then, since there will be an effective fracking ban on the ballot this November, that the lefties are training and deploying their “army”. It’s always a little creepy to see them...

To many Democrats, ObamaCare is a four-letter word. Most Democrats in competitive elections are seeking to avoid the topic, opting not to tout the controversial law on their campaign websites. In a review of battleground races, The Hill found that out of 50 Democratic candidates with active campaign websites, only 11 mention the healthcare law by name, either as "ObamaCare," "Affordable Care Act," or "ACA." Fourteen more mention the law, but not its name, and half the candidates omit it entirely from their websites. President Obama has trumpeted that more than 8 million people have enrolled in ACA-related plans. Meanwhile,...

A new report analyzing the financial ramifications of a takeover of some of Nevada’s millions of acres of federal lands suggests the state would benefit from such a transfer. A transfer of 4 million acres of U.S. Bureau Land Management land could bring in anywhere from $31 million to $114 million a year, based on a review of four Western states that have significant amounts of trust lands under their control, the report says.

We wrote about this race just yesterday, in the context of incumbent Mark Udall's new ad claiming that Republican Cory Gardner is on a "crusade" to "outlaw" birth control. The Gardner campaign responded with a scathing statement: “After nearly two decades in Washington, Senator Udall has decided to launch his reelection campaign with a negative, misleading attack ad because he has no record of accomplishments. While Coloradans sound the call for new leadership, Senator Udall continues to lie about Cory Gardner’s record while distorting his own. If Senator Udall trusts and respects women, and all Coloradans for that matter,...

U.S. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky is the strongest candidate in Colorado in the 2016 presidential race, topping former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton 48 - 43 percent. There is a huge gender gap as men back the Republican Paul 55 - 35 percent while women go with the Democrat Clinton 50 - 40 percent. Independent voters back Paul 48 - 37 percent. In other possible matchups: Clinton ties New Jersey Gov. Christopher Christie 42 - 42 percent; Clinton leads former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush 45 - 40 percent; Clinton gets 45 percent to former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee's 44...

The fee would pay for half of the annual operating costs of Connect for Health Colorado, the state Obamacare exchange, according to Health News Colorado. The exchange’s latest financial plan comes soon after its oversight board rejected a proposal to hike fees on those who use the website from 1.4 percent to 1.7 percent. Connect for Health Colorado staff has said the increase was needed to keep it solvent. Board members said staff should look at cutting expenses before raising fees, and many had the same reaction to the proposed $13 million fee, which is being called a “general market health insurer assessment.” Others call it...

The Mile High City was jammed with pot revelers Sunday for the annual 4/20 festival, but the mood was far from celebratory Monday as state legislators moved to tighten rules on marijuana products in the wake of two tragic deaths. The Colorado House passed unanimously bills to set possession limits for concentrated forms of marijuana such as hash oil, and to make cookies, candy and other foods infused with pot more easily identifiable. ... But industry officials aren’t thrilled with the edibles bill, which will require the state Department of Revenue to adopt rules by Jan. 1, 2016, that require...

"PeakNation™ time to put the chocolate bunny down and get back to work. On a day when many across the country were celebrating a resurrection, well-known and well-respected prognosticator Stu Rothenberg stated one thing that won’t be resurrected come November is liberal Senator Mark Udall’s political career." Rothenberg on CNN. 12 second video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ylz5G_f-XIM

DENVER – A college student eats more than the recommended dose of a marijuana-laced cookie and jumps to his death from a hotel balcony. A husband with no history of violence is accused of shooting his wife in the head, possibly after eating pot-infused candy. The two recent deaths have stoked concerns about Colorado’s recreational marijuana industry and the effects of the drug, especially since cookies, candy and other pot edibles can be exponentially more potent than a joint. “We’re seeing hallucinations, they become sick to their stomachs, they throw up, they become dizzy and very anxious,” said Al Bronstein,...

<p>On one tour we joined, smoke wafted out windows. Strangers shared pipes and exchanged samples of weed and wax, a concentrated form of marijuana. Canisters of buds bearing names like "tangerine haze" and "strawberry cough," were passed around to smell. Nutella pancakes came up in conversations at least three times.</p>

Prosecutors have filed a first-degree murder charge against a 47-year-old Observatory Park man accused of killing his wife while she pleaded for help on a call with a 911 operator. Richard Kirk purchased marijuana candy about 6:40 p.m. Monday and is accused of shooting his wife to death about three hours later. ... The 44-year-old woman spent 13 minutes on the phone with the 911 operator. According to dispatch recordings, it took officers more than 15 minutes to arrive at the brick Tudor home. ...

DENVER — House Democrats approved on a 37-28 party-line vote Thursday a bill aimed at improving their odds in recall elections over the objections of Republicans, who argued that the measure violates the state constitution. Senate Bill 158 redefines Election Day as the day that early voting begins, which would allow county clerks enough time to mail out ballots before a recall. Last year’s historic recalls were conducted as walk-in elections, prompting some Democrats to blame “voter suppression” after two Senate Democrats were ousted. Democrats said the bill was intended to “harmonize” recall voting with last year’s sweeping elections overhaul...

About 80 people showed up at a meeting in Aspen on Thursday on whether the BLM should void 65 oil and gas leases in the region, including 25 in the Thompson Divide area. Two-thirds of the way through the meeting in the basement of the Pitkin County Library, every person who had spoke urged the 13 BLM officials in attendance to cancel the leases, which were first authorized in a 1993 environmental impact statement. “We’re very much in favor of voiding the leases, specifically within the Thompson Divide area,” said Rob Ittner, the chair of the Pitkin County Board of...

Christian radio broadcaster James Dobson has won a temporary injunction preventing the federal government from requiring his ministry to include the morning-after pill and other emergency contraception in its health insurance. A federal judge in Denver issued the injunction Thursday. Dobson sued in December, saying the Affordable Care Act mandate to provide the contraception violates the religious beliefs of his Colorado Springs-based ministry, called Family Talk.