LIBERTARIAN PARTY OF COLORADO BLOG

Doctors want the state to block Catholic takeover of Lutheran Hospital

The delegation of physicians issued a statement Thursday that they object to the transfer of control to the Sisters of Charity Leavenworth Health System because medical practices deemed unethical by the Catholic Church, such as abortion and tubal ligation, would no longer be offered.

Exempla Lutheran is the only community hospital in Jefferson County.

"For more than a hundred years, Lutheran has served the entire community," said Dr. Carla Murphy, president of the Exempla Lutheran medical staff.

"What might be appropriate for a Catholic hospital serving a predominantly Catholic population is not appropriate for a community hospital," she said.

Under Colorado law, the state attorney general must approve the transfer of assets between nonprofit organizations. Attorney General John Suthers has until Dec. 30 to decide.

http://www.denverpost.com/ci_7594835

The state has no business interfering with the inner working of any private organization, even a charity. I don’t like the results and would prefer that the Catholics did not impose personal beliefs on patrons of their hospitals, but it is their hospital and they should make the rules. However this is not as cut and dry as it would be if we were talking about any other normal business or a for profit hospital. The government can claim they have a right to interfere because these charities take special advantage of tax exemptions and get other special privileges. I suppose bureaucratic regulations and interference in business plans, are the price that these charities pay for the tax exempt status and to some extent it would serve them right if the deal is blocked by the government. When you play with serpents, you eventually get bit.

LTE: Marijuana laws unjust, harmful and absurd

I like this Letter to the Editor:

Marijuana laws unjust, harmful and absurd

The Rocky Mountain News editorial, "Regulating caregivers/State should closely monitor those who assist medical pot patients" (Nov. 26) is neatly logical within its narrow conception. But what really is the matter under discussion?

What's under discussion, my friends, is a body of laws regulating the personal use of a long-established North American plant, laws which:

* were passed in a mood of anti-black hysteria in the 1930s;

* are unjust and do the most harm to the weakest;

* are, were, and will remain unconstitutional;

* benefit only big government and organized crime.

The rest is here:
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2007/nov/29/a-differing-view-november-29/

In a related article:
Police arrested 14 people during a major drug bust on Wednesday evening, after serving four simultaneous no-knock warrants.

http://www.9news.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=81844

Douglas County Libraries ask for recount on failed tax increase

Douglas County Libraries asked for the recount and will pay up to $3,500 in recount costs, said Jack Arrowsmith, the county's clerk and recorder.

http://www.denverpost.com/localpolitics/ci_7584493

Now if this had passed by the same margin who would have came up the $3500 to contest it? One thing I really dislike about these government agencies asking for more money is that they always end up using tax money to try and get more tax money from the citizens. It is a never ending cycle. The government is always the winner, even when they lose, what did they actually lose? Nothing really since it is not like a private organization where they have to either provide a service to obtain the money to promote their cause, or a non-profit where they have to convince donors of the need for the money. In the case of the library, they are given money that is forcibly taken from residents, and then they use that money to convince at least 50% of the voting population (normally less than 25% of the total population) that they need more tax money. If they lose it just means that their funding remains similar to what it had been and if they win then they get a boon. To top it off there is almost never any organized opposition to these attempts by government agencies to extort more tax money, so they just keep asking for more each election cycle and eventually they always win.

Judge orders police to return 39 pot plants

Brian Vincente, lawyer for the couple, hopes authorities have taken care of the plants as provided by the state's medical marijuana law, which was approved by voters in 2000.

"If they've allowed these plants to die, they've broken the law," said Vincente, executive director of Sensible Colorado, a non-profit advocacy group of medical marijuana patients.

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2007/nov/27/judge-rules-police-must-return-39-marijuana-plants/

I would be very surprised if these plants are still alive. I do love the image of cops hanging around the station growing and taking care of marijuana. Those plants were stolen from these people by the cops more than a year ago, so in that amount of time there is no way these plants could still be alive unless they were actively taken care of.

Another interesting part of this article was how the cop got into the home, by accompanying a social worker. My advice to anyone out there is never let a cop into your home for any reason that appears to be voluntary, there is nothing good that will come of it and there is also a chance that something bad will come of it. 

More on the proposed changes to Colorado’s alcohol laws

Booze and beer are up for debate at the Capitol next year, and lobbyists hope people are tired of the Sunday liquor ban and grocery stores without wine.

State legislators are considering changing both laws, as well as letting art galleries and jewelry shops hand out free glasses of Chianti.

http://www.denverpost.com/ci_7566209

This article goes a bit more in-depth on the proposed changes to Colorado’s alcohol laws. I think all are good steps. Personally I don’t see any justification for the government to dictate the operating times of any business.

And as for the prohibition of handing out wine at an art gallery opening, well I wasn’t even aware that was illegal. It should be noted that there should be no requirement for those businesses to pay a fee to get a permit just so that they can give away a legal product. I actually don’t know if this proposed law is a good step or not. It seems to me that the government started cracking down on an obscure law to put the screws to these gallery owners, probably solely for the purpose to create this fee based license as a means to generate more revenue for the state. It is a tax in disguise.

Silly bureaucrat story

Here is a funny little personal story I have about dealing with the government today. Last month I sent in my voter registration papers, it had said that I would be getting a confirmation letter sent to me in about two weeks. I never received such a letter so I decided to call them at their number 303-795-4511. The recording said to go to www.arapahoevote.com so I went to that site and it was a useless site. It turns out that the proper site is www.arapahoevotes.com, that “s” is very important. Just to make sure I was not mis-hearing I called back and it definitely says Arapahoe “vote” dot com. I ended up speaking to a nice bureaucrat and was told that they haven’t processed my request yet and they are backlogged because they are switching to a new computer system. I was already registered, but because I missed voting in an election (not a high priority of mine as my vote tends to be a protest vote in any case, I don’t believe I have ever voted for a person who has actually won), I was placed on inactive status and forced to re-register.

Can I see your License to Dance?

ROCK SPRINGS, Wyo. — The City Council has adopted an ordinance requiring all sexually oriented businesses to license employees.

The ordinance, which unanimously passed last week, will make it mandatory for dancers, managers, bartenders and security guards to have licenses. It takes effect Jan. 1.

http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_7557248

Blacks law dictionary defines a license as “the permission of a competent authority to do an act which otherwise would be illegal”. So my question is, does this mean being a security guard, dancer, bartender, etc., is now illegal unless you meet the standards of the government. What criteria are they going to use and to what purpose are they going to require these “licenses”? It appears to me that this is either a measure designed purely to raise revenue (i.e. the license is a clever name for a special tax paid by workers in the adult industry), or it is a backdoor way of making all adult oriented businesses illegal in the town of Rock Springs (i.e. the government refuses all requests for licenses, thus backhandedly shutting down all of these businesses). It could be both of these things, subject to change at the discretion of the current city council. I think it is a repugnant use of government authority.   

Thought Crime Bill passes Senate

I know this is about a month old, but I only recently found out about it. There is not an epidemic of homegrown terrorism and the laws we already have cover any act of violence or destruction regardless of motivation (terrorism, greed, retribution, etc.). Under this new law the government can prosecute those that have not committed a crime and are only part of a group it deems to be a terrorist leaning group. This amounts to a thought crime bill that will prosecute people for being involved with any group or philosophy the government deems “extreme”, thus any that might threaten their omnipotent power. They claim they will self monitor the implementation of this bill to ensure that no one’s civil rights are eviscerated, but you and I know how reliable the government is at monitoring themselves.

For a less biased look at the bill:

http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/3388/examining_the_homegrown_terrorism_prevention_act/

Text of the bill along with an article about the bill:
http://www.thepeoplesvoice.org/cgi-bin/blogs/voices.php/2007/11/25/kucinich_opposes_the_assault_on_the_free

Votes on the bill from our lovely bunch in congress:

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/vote.xpd?vote=h2007-993

Colorado
Aye CO-1 DeGette, Diana [D]
Aye CO-2 Udall, Mark [D]
Aye CO-3 Salazar, John [D]
Aye CO-4 Musgrave, Marilyn [R]
Aye CO-5 Lamborn, Doug [R]
Aye CO-6 Tancredo, Thomas [R]

And a special note here, we have a co-sponser of the bill:
Aye CO-7 Perlmutter, Ed [D]

USOC wants free rent (who doesn't?)

The U.S. Olympic Committee wants free office space if it keeps its headquarters in Colorado Springs, according to a document the city released Wednesday.

The USOC moved to Colorado Springs from New York City in 1978.

Its 34-acre campus includes the committee's headquarters, offices for national bodies overseeing different sports and an Olympic training center that draws athletes from across the country.

http://www.denverpost.com/ci_7533347

I say good bye and good riddance! We don’t need these welfare queens, taking tax money. If the government owns the land that USOC currently sits on, they could sell it off to a private company and replace a leech with a productive company that would employ many people and not ask for free rent and other perks. The choice is clear, let the leeches go. However, I would speculate that they are not really planning on going anywhere (as that would be tremendously expensive) and are merely playing the old sports team card (give us X or we relocate).

Politically connected get away with stealing land in Boulder

Here is a story on the Boulder couple who had their land stolen from them by a couple of former bureaucrats. It makes you wonder if the thieves (Edith Stevens and Richard McLean: a former district court judge, Boulder mayor, and city councilman) are so dishonest now, how many minor thefts and other crimes did he commit while in office? It isn't as if most people who like to abuse special knowledge and power, wait until after they retire to start.

http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_7508274