
Armstrong: Coram deserves praise for his efforts on hemp
Although Coram failed at the farming end of it, he helped to clear up legal barriers to producing hemp. I suspect Betsy Ross and George Washington would be proud.
Although Coram failed at the farming end of it, he helped to clear up legal barriers to producing hemp. I suspect Betsy Ross and George Washington would be proud.
Colorado Congressmen strenuously object to AG Sessions rescinding Obama-era federal prosecution guidance on state-legal marijuana.
Again, don’t make the rookie mistake of assuming that “marijuana-related” incidents are related to marijuana.
As Childears observed, “an act of Congress is the only way to solve this problem.”
As Childears observed, “an act of Congress is the only way to solve this problem.”
It’s ironic that one of the few “states’ rights” battles won in recent times was Colorado’s decision to legalize marijuana in the teeth of federal laws to the contrary. Pot really isn’t legal in Colorado, of course. The federal government still bans the stuff. And in Gonzales v. Raich (2005), the Supreme Court held that the federal ban is valid and the supreme law of the land. Last I looked, Colorado was still part of “the land.”
If the Denver City Council holds the power to ban people from smoking marijuana on their private property because some people disapprove of that lifestyle, what will prevent the them from banning people from smoking cigarettes or cigars, drinking alcohol, engaging in kissing, or even holding hands if enough people disapprove of their lifestyle?
If the Denver City Council holds the power to ban people from smoking marijuana on their private property because some people disapprove of that lifestyle, what will prevent the them from banning people from smoking cigarettes or cigars, drinking alcohol, engaging in kissing, or even holding hands if enough people disapprove of their lifestyle?
The latest version of Denver’s rules for marijuana consumption eliminates the widely derided “smell test,” which would have made pot smoking illegal when other people can smell it, even if you do it on your own property.
Not only are pot taxes likely to be sky high, various sorts of restrictions on pot shops may well make it easier to buy, sell, and use black-market marijuana rather than the legal variety.
From a consumer’s perspective, something has gone terribly wrong if legal marijuana prices do not end up being substantially lower than black-market prices.
Since Denver is Colorado’s largest city and home to most of its MMCs, the cannabis cartel it is establishing will have a big impact on the industry, especially since other municipalities are apt to copy Denver’s approach.
By Jon Caldara
TABOR simply means voter consent. TABOR is democracy. Weakening TABOR is weakening democracy.
Every couple of years the spending lobby orchestrates an assault on our Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights. They are testing another onslaught likely for next year.
I was around for the fights to pass TABOR in the early 1990s. Then- Gov.Roy Romer famously declared if it passed, it will put a “going out of business” sign on the entrance to Colorado.
Oddly, our population has nearly doubled since then, and state spending has ballooned from just more than $6 billion to roughly $44 billion.
Read that headline again. Since TABOR, our population grew one-fold, state spending grew 7-fold. Predictable tax and spending policy helped create a boom.
The opposite of Romer’s scare is true. If we mess with our Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, then we might as well put a “going out of business” sign on the entrance to Colorado.
Like telling tales of the boogeyman around the campfire to frighten children, those who feed on unconstrained spending want to scare the kids, too. The young in this case are those who weren’t in Colorado before we demanded simple voter consent over our own money.
Get ready for a new batch of stories on how this Chupacabra of fiscal restraint is somehow making our lives worse, and the only way to slay the monster is to attack democracy and take away our right of consent.
Look no further than U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet’s announcement of gubernatorial aspiration. The first thing he said was he needs to be governor of Colorado to protect us from the current, unprecedented threat to democracy, being President Donald Trump. The second thing he said was we need to attack democracy to get rid of TABOR. I’m sorry, “reform” TABOR.
He will save our democratic right to vote by taking away our democratic right to vote.
He and the rest of the taking coalition find it nauseating to ask voters for consent to commandeer and spend even more of their livelihoods. They never mention with TABOR they can still grow the size of government as large as they like! All they have to do is — wait for it, because it is so very terrifying — ask us first.
They can raise the taxes to 100% of what we earn. All they must do is ask us first. Increase debt so much our great-great-great grandchildren will still be paying it off. Just ask our consent.
They refuse to accept that no means no. So, they need to find a way where they no longer must ask at all.
Our Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights is the very expression of direct democracy. We need to be absolutely clear on what this coming assault against our right to say no is. This is an attack on democracy itself.
They will cleverly find a way to use democracy to kill democracy. To find a way for us to vote against TABOR just once to take away our right to vote forevermore.
Throughout history that is how democracies step aside for tyranny. Tyrants from Hitler to Putin were legitimately voted into power, only to pervert democracy so they were never threatened by voter consent again.
When power is concentrated, democracy constricts.
The history of TABOR proves it as well. Seven black-shirts have weakened TABOR, not voters. The Colorado Supreme Court have ripped holes through this protection for direct democracy.
TABOR says we get to vote on taxes. The black-shirts ruled calling a “tax” by a different name, “fee,” means we lose our vote. Without a single public vote now nearly three-fourths of what the state spends is “fees.”
TABOR says we get to vote on debt. The black-shirts ruled calling “debt” by a different name, “Certificates of Participation (COPS),” means we don’t get to vote.
TABOR says government can ask us to keep excess tax revenue, but only for four years. The black-shirts ruled “four years” will be interpreted as “forever,” meaning if they can con voters out of their refunds only once, they never need ask again.
And that’s why every couple of years they put something on the statewide ballot to end TABOR refunds forever.
Like a child nagging for a treat, they want to wear us down.
But unlike a child, if we give into this tantrum once, they get all the candy they want, forever.
A new legislative bill in Colorado aims to incentivize data centers with money from the taxpayers. PowerGab Hosts Jake Fogleman and Amy Cooke discuss this bill, its progress, and what it would mean for Coloradans.
Show Notes:
https://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2025A/bills/2025a_280_01.pdf
By law, children must go to school, and if parents can’t afford a private school or to home school, children must go to government run schools. That makes our children’s safety at the school the government’s top priority. Our children are in their custody after all. Lindsay Datko of JeffCo Kids First has discovered our kids are anything but safe.