Free Republic

A Colorado momma bear is suing Wellington Middle School in Fort Collins, Colo., after learning they pulled her sixth-grade daughter into a secret transgender recruiting meeting disguised as an “art club.” “When she got there, she very quickly learned it was actually a gender and sexuality awareness club,” Erin Lee ... “What you hear in here, stays in here,” the mystery groomer allegedly told the kids, suggesting that telling their parents wasn’t “safe.” Lee further disclosed that the guest presenter informed the kids they were transgender if they didn’t feel totally comfy with their gender. “She explained to my daughter...

Across the nation, policies were formed following America’s confrontation with racism in the summer of 2020. A case that sparked protests and calls for change then is the force behind a proposal getting ready for a vote now at the Colorado Capitol. Lawmakers and law enforcement have been working on a policy regarding no-knock warrants for years. Their compromise is now steps away from the governor’s desk.

WOODLAND PARK, Colo. — When a conservative slate of candidates won control of the school board here 18 months ago, they began making big changes... These rapid and sweeping shifts weren’t coincidental — instead it was a plan ripped from the MAGA playbook designed to catch opponents off guard, according to a board member’s email released through an open records request... The school board’s decisions have won some praise in heavily Republican Teller County, but opposition is growing, including from conservative Christians and lifelong GOP voters... Teachers grew particularly alarmed early this year when word spread that Ken Witt, the...

Here 4 the Kids, a gun control group comprised of mothers, is urging Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) to use an executive order to ban all guns in the state. The mothers are hoping a “group of 25,000 will come together for a sit-in at the state Capitol” on June 5 to demand all guns be banned, 9 News reports. The homepage on the Here 4 the Kids website says, “We demand that Colorado Governor Jared Polis sign an executive order to ban guns and buy them back.” Another section of their website explains, “We are not an organization. This...

The devil is in the details behind all the weekend media headlines proclaiming equal TABOR refunds, but only if voters approve Prop HH that is disguised as a property tax cut. It’s a con job that would make Charles Ponzi proud. The last hour bill comes as the legislative session grinds to a close today. It came with zero review or input from the public and most of your elected lawmakers. The bill — sponsored by Democratic Reps. Chris deGruy Kennedy and Mike Weissman, as well as Democratic Sens. Chris Hansen and Nick Hinrichsen — was immediately heard Saturday afternoon...

California borrowed approximately $20 billion from the federal government to cover unemployment benefits during the pandemic, and with Gov. Gavin Newsom’s recent decision to not pay it back, employers are now saddled with the expense, according to experts. “The state should have taken care of the loans with the COVID money it received from the government in 2021,” Marc Joffe, policy analyst at the Cato Institute—a public policy think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C.—told The Epoch Times. In the proposed 2023–2024 budget, $750 million was allocated to start paying down the loans, but Newsom made changes to the plan in...

A 19-year-old who was arrested in March and accused of planning a mass shooting at schools in Colorado Springs appeared in court Wednesday afternoon, where a judge approved a request by the defense to delay a hearing.... Whitworth, who is transitioning to female, was arrested March 31 and accused of planning a mass shooting when investigators found instructions on how to build homemade bombs and a whiteboard with the floor plan to Timberview Middle School in Whitworth's bedroom, according to arrest records obtained by The Gazette... Deputies found Whitworth lying in bed, drunk, in a room piled with trash that...

DENVER — It was the 554th Friday since his son, Alex, was one of 12 people shot to death in a movie theater 11 miles from here, and state Sen. Tom Sullivan (D) stood in the well of the Colorado Senate, calling again for stricter gun laws. The gallery above was filled with grieving Denver high-schoolers whose classmate had recently been fatally shot. The halls outside were swarming with volunteers in red Moms Demand Action T-shirts, one of whom stopped Sullivan as he exited the chamber to ask: Would he support a state assault weapons ban? Federal, absolutely, he responded....

You have to at least give the Colorado Education Association (CEA) points for brazen candor. At its 97th Annual Delegate Assembly in April, the state’s largest teachers’ union voted to formally oppose capitalism as an economic system. The announcement came as little surprise to Coloradans who’ve watched as the union has veered so far to the left in recent years it’s now off the road entirely. What should set off alarm bells for everyone, however, is that CEA believes its militancy no longer has to be denied or defended. A former Denver Public Schools teacher took to Twitter on April...

The Colorado Education Association [CEA] reportedly passed a resolution that declares that "capitalism inherently exploits children, public schools, land, labor, and resources." A final version of the resolution that was passed states that "CEA believes that capitalism requires exploitation of children, public schools, land, labor, and/or resources. Capitalism is in opposition to fully addressing systemic racism (the school to prison pipeline), climate change, patriarchy, (gender and LGBTQ disparities), education inequality, and income inequality. However, a screenshot captures an earlier draft of the resolution that included a call to replace capitalism with a "new equitable economic system."

Suppose someone offers to help you pay your bills — then reaches into your pocket, grabs your wallet, pulls out some money and hands it to you. That’s more or less what Gov. Jared Polis and his Democratic allies who run the Legislature have in mind in promising “relief” for Coloradans facing skyrocketing property taxes. Unveiled by the governor at a Monday news conference and introduced the same day in the Legislature as Senate Bill 23-303, the complicated proposal would ask voters on next November’s statewide ballot to pay for a large part of their own property-tax relief. That’s right;...

If you’ve opened your property tax assessment you’ve already had your coronary. Your property value has gone up between 30% and 70%.. That means because the Legislature, under Democrat Gov. Bill Ritter, froze mill levy rates (preventing them from lowering) and because voters foolishly repealed the Gallagher Amendment in 2020, your property taxes are going to go up some 30% to 70% next year. But don’t worry. The same people who have put you in this bind are going to pantomime rescuing you just as the clock runs out on their legislative session. What heroes. The Colorado state Legislature, with...

More than two dozen Democrats in the state of Colorado have voted against legislation that would make it a felony for anyone to indecently expose themselves to children, reasoning that it could lead to the banning of drag shows.Currently, in Colorado it is only considered a class 1 misdemeanor if a person indecently exposes themselves in the view of a child, if it is the first offence.Speaking about the legislation to make it a class 6 felony, one of the Democratic Representatives, Leslie Herod said, “These types of laws have been used to ban drag shows, to target individuals who...

Over dozen Democrats in the state of Colorado voted against legislation that would make it a felony for anyone to indecently expose themselves to children. What is Demcorat’s reasoning for voting against this proposed legislation? It could lead to the banning of drag shows. Yes, really. It is currently considered a class 1 misdemeanor if someone indecently exposes themselves to a child in Colorado. Speaking about the legislation, one of the Democratic Representatives, Leslie Herod, said, “These types of laws have been used to ban drag shows, to target individuals who use the restroom of the sex that they identify...

It was a dream come true—or rather about to come true—when the Halls bought their forever home. It had everything they needed and more: five bedrooms, four bathrooms, a family room, a dining room, a roomy garage, good schools, and a good neighborhood. Sure, a fixer-upper, but they felt up to it. Prentiss Hall, a home improvement contractor, made it his life project, and everybody lent a hand—his wife, Tawanda, and six children, cousins, and friends. “We were really excited,” Tawanda told The Epoch Times. They negotiated the price down to $67,000—a bargain, perhaps, but the home demanded a daunting...

This editor just finished a post on CNN’s epic-length piece consulting drag scholars and historians about America’s rich history of drag shows, arguing that this history might prevent current efforts to push drag “underground”; i.e., away from children. Liberals like to play deaf: They opposed the “Don’t Say Gay” law that kept sex education out of kindergarten classes. They’re all for “all-ages” drag shows and “drag camp” for kids. They want minors to be able to consent to “gender-affirming care” that alters their bodies for life. It’s the children, stupid. We wish we knew this representative’s name, but here she...

Illinois, New York and California continued their streak as the nation’s biggest losers of residents and their wealth to other states, according to a Wirepoints analysis of newly-released Internal Revenue Service migration data. Texas and Florida continued to be the nation’s big winners.The latest IRS state-by-state migration data is based on tax returns filed in 2020 and 2021, covering taxpayers (tax filers and their dependents) who moved from one state to another between 2019 and 2020 (see appendix for changes in our reporting methodology). Florida, the nation’s perennial winner, gained in 2020 the most net people, 256,000, and the most...

Denver Mayor Michael Hancock's passport is filling up fast. What's happening: The termed-out leader has been spending his last months in office traveling the world before his 12-year-run wraps this summer. Why it matters: Taxpayers are fronting much of the lame-duck mayor's excursions. Driving the news: Late last month, Hancock and his delegation returned home from Japan in the name of attracting economic development to Denver — his third overseas trip in roughly the past six months. While globetrotting, the mayor has mostly flown business class and stayed in several five-star hotels, including the Nile Ritz-Carlton in Cairo, the Sofitel...

One of three Colorado teenagers accused of throwing large landscaping rocks toward at least seven cars allegedly took a photo of the final victim's car after hitting it "as a memento," according to court documents. Joseph Koenig, Nicholas "Mitch" Karol-Chik and Zachary Kwak, all 18-year-old high school seniors, were arrested this week in connection to the April 19 rock-throwing spree, the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office said. The final rock-throwing incident claimed the life of 20-year-old driver Alexa Bartell. In two of the seven incidents, drivers suffered minor injuries.

Homeowners across Colorado are bracing themselves for a hefty increase in their property tax bills. This is the year county assessors re-value homes and properties. On Wednesday, those assessors warned homeowners that the values are increasing from 30% to more than 60% in some counties. ... "The fact is that there is no reprieve for homeowners this year. From corner to corner of Douglas County and probably the state, all values have gone up quite significantly. If it's rural, if it's suburban, if it's large, if it's small, if it's expensive or inexpensive, all properties in Douglas County in the...