LIBERTARIAN PARTY OF COLORADO BLOG

No further spending in New Orleans, says Tancredo

Republican presidential candidate Rep. Tom Tancredo says it's time to stop "runaway government spending" on post-Hurricane Katrina recovery efforts.
"Enough is enough," the Colorado congressman said in a statement today,

"This whole fiasco has been a perfect storm of corruption and incompetence at all levels" Tancredo said. "It's time the taxpayer gravy train left the New Orleans station."

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_5687170,00.html

Tancredo's stance on this is right on the money.

Tag - Another reason to get government out of the school business

An elementary school has banned tag on its playground after some children complained they were harassed or chased against their will.

http://www.denverpost.com/ci_6750066

The problem with all of these kinds of stories is not what is banned, but rather that we are forced to support these ridiculous policies with our tax money. If we were to go to an all privately owned school system then parents would be more empowered to choose schools that match their preferences or ask the school to keep their kids away from the tag game going on during recess.

AIDS patient could get 12-years in prison

Medical-marijuana advocates rallied Monday for a Thornton man who has AIDS and Hepatitis B but didn't register with the state to grow the pot he says keeps him alive.
Jack Branson, 39, faces up to 12 years in prison, charged with cultivating and possessing marijuana with intent to distribute.

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_5684033,00.html

Pot Initiative goes to voters

Denver voters will have the final say on whether the city should change its marijuana laws, but that didn't stop several City Council members from accusing pot activists of turning city elections into a farce.

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_5684045,00.html

State lawmakers consider self-extinguishing cigarettes

DENVER - Smokers in Colorado would have a new product to buy if some state lawmakers have their way.

Efforts are under way to require the sale of fire-safe cigarettes throughout the state in an effort to cut down on the fires which kill the most people nationwide every year, according to the National Fire Protection Agency.

That group is the leading advocate for self-extinguishing cigarettes nationwide.

http://www.9news.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=76221

One sided article that sites absolutely no statistics that show these cigarettes have actually reduced deaths in the states where they are required. The article does not even let us know how much extra these cigarettes cost, so there is no way of trying to weigh the cost/benefit ratio, even if you believe that the government should dictate the type of cigarettes sold on the pretense of public safety.

Wyoming proposes smoking ban

CASPER, Wyo. (AP) -- The Legislature's Joint Labor, Health and Social Services Interim Committee has voted to draft a bill to ban smoking in public places throughout Wyoming.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/W/WY_SMOKING_BAN_WYOL-?SITE=CODEN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

R.I.P. Aaron Russo

Aaron Russo died 08/24 of cancer. Russo sought (but did not win, after coming in first on the first two ballots) the 2004 Libertarian Party presidential nomination. He was writer and director of the controversial, conspiratorial movie America: From Freedom to Fascism, aiming at the income tax system and the Federal Reserve.

for more info:
http://gordonunleashed.com/blog/2007/08/24/may-aaron-russo-rest-in-peace/

City Council refuses to admit that Alcohol is more dangerous than Pot

Citizens for a Safer Denver collected more than 10,000 signatures to place an initiative on the November ballot asking voters to make marijuana possession the "lowest law enforcement priority" in Denver.

But Thursday the group offered to spike the initiative if the city would agree not to ticket people for marijuana possession during the 2008 Democratic National Convention and state that pot is less harmful that booze.

So far, there are no takers.

http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_6703531

I expect that there won’t be many people attending the convention being ticketed for marijuana possession in any case. The city council is just scared of having to make a public statement acknowledging that marijuana is less harmful than alcohol, even though the evidence does prove that marijuana is indeed less dangerous than alcohol. 

State commission to review four terrible healthcare plans

State commission will get consultants' take today on final four plans aimed at insuring more Coloradans' health while slowing rising costs

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_5680356,00.html

Can we vote for none of the above? All of these plans will increase taxes and government meddling in healthcare. The plan libertarians would prefer is for government to extricate themselves from the healthcare industry. Right now about 50% of every healthcare dollar spent comes from the government, as government involvement in healthcare has increased, the quality has decreased and the costs have increased. Just like the public schools, the more government “invests” in health care, the worse the situation becomes.

You can kill it, but not adopt it!

A Greeley family faces thousands of dollars in fines and possible jail time for apparently bringing the pronghorn from Wyoming and raising it, according to the Greeley Tribune.

Rogstad told the Tribune he could not release names of the people he believes may have brought the animal into Weld County. He said they could face several charges, ranging from illegal possession of live wildlife and transporting wildlife across state lines. In addition, the state of Wyoming could press charges, and the game and fish division could pursue its own charges. Rogstad said the penalties could be thousands of dollars in fines and jail time. The case is still under investigation.

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_5680638,00.html

The funny thing is they would be in less trouble for shooting the animal than attempting to rescue and raise it.