LIBERTARIAN PARTY OF COLORADO BLOG

More gambling options might be on the ballot

Casinos are working on a ballot initiative of their own that would open the door to raising the bet limit up to $100, as well as expanding casino hours and adding roulette and craps games.

http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_9096791

The only bad thing about this initiative (that I know of at this point) is that the casinos are not trying to sell it as a positive because it increases adult freedoms, but rather they are trying to sell it as a boon to the government because of all of the new taxes they will raise. At least these are somewhat voluntary taxes as you definitely have a choice in whether or not you wish to gamble and how much you are willing to lose.

Adult charged with "possession of alcohol"???

Bell faces numerous charges, including trespassing, possession of alcohol and resisting arrest.

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/apr/28/man-tasered-arrested-after-noodle-tossing-taco-bel/

Since when is "possession of alcohol" a crime? The rest of the story lacks detail and it is hard to say if he was being violent or what actually happened at the Taco Bell, it is a fairly safe assumption that he was not eating quietly and probably deserved to be tossed out of the restaurant. It seems odd to me he was charged with "possession of alcohol", because last I knew this was not a crime.

Teens should "Just Say NO" to oppressive bureaucrats plan for random drug testing

AVON — Battle Mountain High School outside Avon may begin random drug testing of students in sports and other activities.

http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_9077675

What is the real point of this? It seems to me that unless they are noticeably intoxicated, then they should leave these teenagers alone. I would believe my rights would have been violated, if I were in high school and some bureaucrat forced me to take a drug test for no apparent reason. At the very least it would act as a disincentive to participate in any extra curricular activities in which they tested for drugs. The article didn’t say the bureaucrats are going to report any kids who test positive to the police, but that would be the next logical step for any bureaucrat who knows a teen tested positive and refused to seek “treatment”. I expect the policy has more to do with conditioning kids to just accept violations of privacy by the government as par for the course.

Lakewood, likely to end food tax!

LAKEWOOD — The state's fourth-largest city likely will eliminate a sales tax on groceries, an action unanimously recommended by a citizens committee.

An ordinance that would do away with the 2 percent sales tax on Jan. 1 will be introduced Monday night to the Lakewood City Council.

http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_9067781

“Fiscally conservative” congressman wastes 15 times more of taxpayer money sending out mail, than liberal democrat counterpart

WASHINGTON — Rep. Doug Lamborn sent $135,607 worth of taxpayer-funded mail last year, the highest total of Colorado's congressional delegation and almost double that of the second-place spender.
...
House franking expenditures for calendar year 2007

Doug Lamborn, R-Colorado Springs: $135,607

Diana DeGette, D-Denver: $8,812

http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_9060976

City demands $900 in extortion fees in order to "allow" a windmill being put up

FORT LUPTON - When Brad Groff learned he could save at least 30 percent off his electric bill with the help of a turbine powered windmill, he bought one.

"It's free energy, free energy," he exclaimed. "Who would be against that?"

The city government for one. Only they are not against you putting up a wind generator, as long as you pay their extortion fees you are probably good to go, but here is the rub, even if you pay the extortion fee imposed by the government it is no guarantee that you will be “given permission” to use your own property in a way you see fit. They don’t care, even though it is your property, and your loss if they reject your request to put up a windmill, they suffer no consequences.

"We're not trying to make this a burden for this individual, we want to help make it work," said City Administrator Mike Konefal.

For not trying to be a burden, you sure are a burden to this man. What gives you the authority to tell someone how they can use the property they paid for? Bureaucrats like Konefal make me sick.

The fee to apply for a special use permit is $900, and would still require final approval from the city council.

http://www.9news.com/rss/article.aspx?storyid=90637

Its never enough, is it? More tax increases proposed

A team of Colorado legislators introduced a bill Thursday that would hike annual registration fees by $25 per vehicle and $15 per trailer to raise tens of millions of dollars for a state bridge-safety trust fund.

The measure, Senate Bill 244, also adds a $6-a-day fee to all rental-car transactions in Colorado to raise additional money for a "transportation infrastructure preservation fund."

http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_9050949

FastTax costs balloon

A review of FasTracks finances by the Denver Regional Council of Governments warns that the cost of the transit expansion is likely to escalate, and it urges RTD to use more cautious financial forecasting in the future.

Last year, the Regional Transportation District said the cost of FasTracks, which will add six new rail lines in the Denver area, had ballooned to $6.1 billion from the estimate of $4.7 billion in 2004.

http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_9050933

This is hardly any consolation for those of us opposed to FastTax in the first place, to now know that by the end of this thing it is likely to cost twice as much as originally anticipated. Every year since this abomination passed, FastTax has increased their projections and I expect that trend to continue. Of course they had to push it through during the T-Rex construction so it distorted the traffic problems.

WOLF LINKED TO DELTA COUNTY CORRUPTION

WOLF LINKED TO DELTA COUNTY CORRUPTION

Wayne Wolf, Republican candidate for the 3rd Congressional District, has been serving on the Delta County Board of County Commissioners (BoCC) for the past 7 years. What few people realize is the history and level of corruption within the Delta County BoCC. Most recently County Commissioners, County Planners, and Area Planning Committees have been revising the counties subdivision regulations. However, Engineers, Realtors, Surveyors, mining companies, developers, and ordinary citizens have been forbidden to see the document, let alone have a copy of the drastically changing rules that will deeply affect their personal and professional lives. New regulations regarding working from home have also been included in this document... hidden in the "definitions" section! The chair of the Libertarian Party of Delta County, Debbie Schum, was able to obtain a copy of the document that all but government officials are forbidden to see, and the Libertarian Party of Colorado (LPCO) has posted this document on our web site at: http://www.lpcolorado.org.

Working in collusion with the District Attorneys office, the BoCC has routinely shown a blatant disregard for Colorado law. When the BoCC of Delta County was caught "red-handed" illegally transferring funds in direct violation of state law, the District Attorneys office refused to prosecute the case. A similar legal action was sought by citizens when the BoCC used taxpayer monies to purchase and improve "select" subdivision lots - at taxpayer expense. This case also was brushed off by the District Attorney. Delta County is a statutory county, and therefore must abide by, and not supersede, Colorado state law.
However, many of the counties ordinances (e.g., junk ordinances, sewage/septic requirements) supersede state law by far, and citizens are routinely penalized for non-compliance with illegal and/or non-existent ordinances. Citizen confrontations of the BoCC with legal actions have had no effect.

The LPCO State Chair, Travis Nicks, commented that "Hopefully posting this document to our web site will bring greater transparency to local government in Delta County - and help expose the corruption that has for so long existed there".

For more information, contact:
Debbie Schum
Chair of the Libertarian Party of Delta County
Cell: 970-234-8056
E-Mail: smudgesticks@juno.com

I-70 toll plan is dead, thank goodness

A proposal to charge a $5 toll on Interstate 70 in the mountains is dead

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/apr/24/sponsor-hits-brakes-i-70-toll/