State Senator Mary Hodge (D-Brighton) raises her hand to get her opportunity to slander veterans.

We, our nation’s veterans, are good enough to defend Colorado State Senator Mary Hodge’s First Amendment right to speak like an idiot.  We are not however to be trusted with firearms because in her view we suffer from mental illness.

During the debate Friday at the Colorado State Capitol over limitations on high capacity gun magazines (HB1224), an amendment was offered by Kent Lambert (R-Colorado Springs) that would exempt honorably discharged veterans and members of the National Guard from the bill’s unconstitutional gun grab.

Exemptions already were in the bill for police officers and active duty military personal so exempting those who have fought for our freedom was a logical extension.

Senator Hodge (D-Brighton) instead sought to dismiss the amendment by stereotyping veterans as suffering from mental illness.

Hodge began her comments offering the usual disingenuous platitudes calling veterans “great and wonderful people” but then like all of her ilk, disgustingly turned on them to justify her gun grab.  She said that those who have served our nation should not be trusted because they “come back with significant mental health problems.”

• Watch: Video of the exchange below

Absolutely stunning.  Hodge chose to take the same tact that Senator Dianne Feinstein did in recent days and perpetuate the same, wrong-headed and disgusting stereotype of veterans.

Senator Lambert rightly rebutted Hodge saying, “Let’s have a little more enlightened viewpoint about our veterans.”

As a veteran who served honorably and that is a member of the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars and someone who is actively involved in veterans affairs I am offended by Hodge’s comments.  The senator owes Colorado’s veterans a very public apology for her reprehensible slandering of those who protect her right to say such stupid things.

Do Hodge’s votes and views truly represent the rural areas of Adams County that are in her district or the independent, Western heritage of our communities?  Of course not and she is ignoring her constituents’ wishes and instead pandering to her liberal overseers.

With our without an apology, Hodge simply added to the body of evidence against the group of Adams County Democrats known as the Adams Family.  These people have embarrassed and taken advantage of the good citizens of our community for decades.

Whose side exactly are Colorado Democrats on?  Hodge dismissed our veterans much like her fellow senator Evie Hudak (D-Westminster) dismissed a rape victim’s testimony earlier this week.   Let us also not forget Representative Joe Salazar (D-Thornton) who said that women were too emotional to handle a gun when they are threatened with rape.

What we have is a real war waged by the left not only on veterans and women but a war against We the People.

Click here to watch the full, unedited video of the discussion about the amendment.

On the net:

• Spotlight On Corruption: CO Senator Evie Hudak Really Does Not Care

Adams County’s new stormwater utility tax has created a storm of its own as residents promise to fight the county government. Watch the video below. (stopstormwaterutility.com)

Taxes in any form are unpopular but when coupled with a new bureaucracy ushered in by disgraced county officials under the auspices of a ‘fee’ they are sure to raise residents’ hackles.  Such is the case with the new Adams County “Stormwater Utility” that is raising taxes on county residents and, adding insult to injury, poor management will cost taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars.

The new utility is ostensibly to, “improve water quality and flood protection by increasing public awareness of stormwater issues and implementing stormwater drainage system maintenance and improvements.”

That sounds great in theory but as with everything having to do with Adams County government, it has been far less so in practice.

As one final act to stick it to residents before being run out of office, county commissioners Alice Nichol and Skip Fischer ramrodded through the new scheme to raise millions of dollars in new revenue for the county.  Commissioner Erik Hansen was, as usual, the only member of the board to stand up for residents and oppose the tax.

Residents of unincorporated Adams County now will pay the new fee (i.e. tax) based on the “impervious” area of their property.  Most residents were not even aware of the tax until they received their property tax bills in the past couple of months.

Making matters worse it has been revealed that the county’s math in determining these fees is wrong and many residents have been overcharged.  Nearly $100,000 of taxpayer money will be spent to fix the problem.  Residents can only get a refund if they go through an appeals process.

Residents hit by the tax have since sprung into action and have been calling on the commissioners to repeal the tax and give the citizens a voice in the process.  Last week more than 400 of them attended a meeting to discuss possible legal action against the county.

• Visit the Stop Stormwater Utility Tax website
• Watch the video produced by the Adams County residents upset over the new tax below

Given the county’s troubled past at the hands of the Adams Family, one would like to think that newly minted commissioners Eva Henry and Chaz Tedesco would take the opportunity to uphold their campaign promise for reforms and ethical governance.  That has not been the case.

Henry and Tedesco have said they have no interest in revisiting the issue despite the mismanagement that has already scarred the program.

In an email to one constituent, Henry inexplicably brought politics into the game when this is clearly a non-partisan issue.

She wrote that opposition to the fee was based on “misinformation given out by a political action group” and that group was “being funded by out of state money for the only reason to assignated [sic] my character.”

Henry then went on to run her fellow commissioner under the bus and shift blame from herself saying, “Why Commissioner Hansen never made sure that it was implemented properly I do not know.”

Amazing.  Why is it so hard to believe that Adams County citizens, by themselves, are simply taking a stand against an unjust and poorly implement tax?  Given the history of leadership in Brighton, it should hardly be a surprise that residents are fed up and taking action.

The idea that a “political action group” has any interest in the county’s stormwater utility is laughable.

Having said that, if there is any evidence whatsoever of outside influences, I ask Henry or anyone else with proof to back that claim up to forward it to me and other media outlets so that this can be brought to light.

In the end what we have is another failure of governance in Adams County.  Poor policy followed by poor implementation has resulted in Adams County residents being ripped off by the government in Brighton – again.

Making the situation worse is that those that the people put in office in November with the hope that they would restore our faith in county government aren’t siding with their constituents.  Trying to deflect blame while turning a deaf ear is an old trick of the Adams Family and one that appears to live on with the new occupants in Brighton.

One step forward and two steps back continues to be the rule in Adams County and it is a shame.

 On the net:

• Adams County homeowners say a new Stormwater Utility fee amounts to unfair tax
• Taxpayers saddled with new water run-off fee
• Residents protest stormwater fees

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Obama needs to understand that just because you have checks in the checkbook you don’t necessarily have money in the bank.

President Barack Obama signed the order Friday kicking in the cuts mandated by his sequestration plan.  While the cuts will hit areas best left alone, it is hard to feel sympathetic for a government that has long been spending outside its means.

The blame game is of course in full swing in Washington DC but the reality is there is but one man that bears the burden.

Obama was for sequestration before he was against it and in fact the entire idea originated from him and his economic team.  Further, when offered wide latitude to implement the cuts and ease the pain this past week, the president refused.

Never have we seen a president so set on ‘fundamentally transforming’ the nation steadfastly refuse to negotiate and give ground.  Ideological opposites have historically always been able to find common ground for the greater good.

Ronald Reagan and Tip O’Neill worked together to usher in an unprecedented economic expansion in the 1980s.  In the 1990s Bill Clinton and Newt Gingrich, two men who disliked each other with a passion, were able to implement reforms and tax cuts that brought about prosperity.

With Obama’s ‘my way or the highway’ attitude, it is clear he will put leftist ideology above the good of the nation.

Republicans gave ground and let the president hike taxes on the wealthy, much to the chagrin of their constituents.  The people are well aware the government doesn’t have an income problem, it has a spending problem.

Now the time has come to work on the other part of the equation and bring the deficit and government spending under control.

House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, rightfully said this past week, “Well, Mr. President, you got your tax increase. It’s time to cut spending.”

Obama refused.

The $85 billion cuts from sequestration are absolutely minimal at a mere 2.4% of what is already a hyper-inflated budget.  They do however make cuts in unwise areas.

This week Republicans offered the president a measure that would have allowed him wide latitude in spreading those cuts to areas that could better sustain them.  This was a completely sensible move that would have ensured the military and other essential services were able to weather the storm with minimal disruption.

Obama however said he would not accept the offer and as a result, government agencies and more importantly, the people of the United States will suffer.  Now we all pay for the president’s ego and refusal to compromise.

While I am sympathetic to my fellow Americans that will be affected by the cuts, I have little sympathy for our government and its leader.

The Democrat controlled Senate has not passed an annual budget in four years.  The president failed to submit budgets as required by law and refuses to compromise.

Who is really to blame here?  Republicans have given ground, they have passed budgets in the House, and yet here we are.

Obama needs to understand that just because you have checks in the checkbook you don’t necessarily have money in the bank.

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Ernest Borgnine narrates “I Am The American Sailor” with the United States Navy Band at the U.S. Navy’s 231st birthday concert, held at DAR Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 14, 2006. The music was written by Master Chief Musician Jeffrey Taylor and the poem was written by Master Chief Musician Jere Wallace.

Passing Jessica’s Law in Colorado should be a no-brainer. Democrats however killed the bill and are apparently more worried about protecting child molesters than their victims.

Protecting the absolute most vulnerable among us should be the highest priority of all citizens no matter their political stripes.  Sadly Colorado Democrats chose to side with predators and molesters instead of children and once again killed Jessica’s Law.

45 of 50 states now have a Jessica’s Law on their books.  Named after Jessica Lunsford, a 9-year-old Florida girl that was held captive, raped and beaten by a repeat child sexual offender, the law provides stiff penalties for those found guilty of these most heinous crimes.

Passing the law should require little thought and it should breeze through any state legislature.  With Democrats firmly in control at the capitol though, Colorado’s version of the law (HB13-1149) was sent to its death by the party’s leadership.

Dropped to the House State, Veterans, & Military Affairs committee by Speaker Mark Ferrandino (D – Denver), there was no doubt of the outcome.  The bill saw little discussion and heart wrenching testimony by Jessica’s father, Mark, was summarily dismissed by the leftists in charge of the committee.

The bill was “postponed indefinitely” as the seven Democrats on the committee voted to kill the measure.  Seconding the vote to kill it was Representative Joe Salazar (D – Thornton), the same man who warned that women were too emotional to be trusted with guns for self-defense.

I find it hard to believe that this is the type of representation the people of Colorado want or the actions they expect from their elected officials – no matter what party they belong to.

What does it say about our state when we cannot even pass a measure that would protect our children from the same, horrible fate that Jessica Lunsford suffered?  Are we to believe that we should hold criminals in higher esteem that our children?

All Coloradans should be outraged by the Democrats in the state legislature for their actions.

On the net:

• Colorado Peak Politics - FERRANDINO FALLOUT: Democrats Scramble To Deal With Speaker’s Bungled Attempt To Bury Jessica’s Law

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The image is interesting in that standing behind FLOTUS are a number of active duty military members who apparently served as props for what was nothing more than a PR appearance.  In her commentary announcing the winner of Best Picture, Obama failed to acknowledge the men and women behind her or even the military as a whole.

I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised by the disgraceful use of our military as a prop.  President Barack Obama used children as props in recent weeks to appeal for gun control measures.  Clearly this White House has no problem taking advantage of others to put a pretty face on the disastrous administration.

Props for the First Lady. Michelle Obama was flanked by U.S. military members during her appearance at the Oscars. (White House)

Which do you prefer? Solutions to protect yourself from liberals or the one offered by conservatives?

As the assault on our Second Amendment rights continues, liberals have been quick to try to assuage the anger of the American people by offering a wide variety of asinine alternatives to protect ourselves.  In recent days we have heard that urinating, claiming you have a disease, whistles, and a host of other measures are better for self-defense than guns.

On Friday, Colorado State Representative Joe Salazar (D-Thornton) said that he was concerned an emotional woman might shoot the wrong person in an attempt to protect herself from being raped.  On the floor of the House he said whistles and safe zones were adequate defenses.

Not to be outdone, Representative Paul Rosenthal (D-Denver) similarly said there are certainly alternatives.  He offered the buddy system and judo as ways for women to protect themselves on college campuses.

Vice President Joe Biden who has been putting the pressure on his fellow Democrats at Colorado’s capitol offered his own alternatives.  Biden said a double-barreled shotgun would suffice for home defense.  Best of all, you don’t even have to shoot at an intruder – just “fire two blasts outside the house.”

Perhaps the vice president should lead by example.  I tend to think that if he feels a double-barreled shotgun is adequate for defense, he should arm the Secret Service detail that protects him and his family accordingly.  Let them be the first to dump their semi-automatic handguns and AR-15s.

One bill that is likely to pass the Colorado legislature will take away the right of students on college campuses to protect themselves with a concealed firearm.  No worries though, the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs Department of Public Safety has a whole host of solutions that will surely keep you just as safe as a gun.

UCCS offered 10 extraordinary tops on their website (and subsequently removed them) that are sure to keep you safe from an attacker:

1. Be realistic about your ability to protect yourself.
2. Your instinct may be to scream, go ahead! It may startle your attacker and give you an opportunity to run away.
3. Kick off your shoes if you have time and can’t run in them.
4. Don’t take time to look back; just get away.
5. If your life is in danger, passive resistance may be your best defense.
6. Tell your attacker that you have a disease or are menstruating.
7. Vomiting or urinating may also convince the attacker to leave you alone.
8. Yelling, hitting or biting may give you a chance to escape, do it!
9. Understand that some actions on your part might lead to more harm.
10. Remember, every emergency situation is different. Only you can decide which action is most appropriate.

Democrats and liberals are certain that these defensive measures will be every bit as effective as firearms in keeping you and your family safe.  No doubt you feel better now about having your constitutional rights stripped from you.

Editor’s note, 1:00pm: We almost forgot one other Colorado Democrat’s brilliant recommendation to protect yourself – a ball point pen.  Such was the proposal from State Senator Jesse Ulibarri (D-Adams County).

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Colorado Rep. Joe Salazar (D-Thornton) thinks women are too emotional to protect themselves with a gun so whistles, call boxes and safe zones should be enough for self defense.

Colorado Democrats have pulled out all the stops to take away our Second Amendment rights.  In one of the most asinine arguments in favor of one measure, Representative Joe Salazar (D-Thornton) suggested women might wrongly shoot someone if they “feel like” they are going to be raped.

Leftist lawmakers have waged their war against law-abiding citizens with punitive measures that take aware our constitutional right to keep and bear arms.  Four measures moved through the Colorado House of Representatives in recent days, all of which of course passed thanks to Democrats having a majority.

In floor debate about House Bill 1226, Salazar said:

“It’s why we have call boxes, it’s why we have safe zones, it’s why we have the whistles. Because you just don’t know who you’re gonna be shooting at. And you don’t know if you feel like you’re gonna be raped, or if you feel like someone’s been following you around or if you feel like you’re in trouble when you may actually not be, that you pop out that gun and you pop … pop around at somebody.”

Silly, girls.  You don’t need a gun.  You just might wrongly hurt someone in your frightened, emotional state.  Rep. Salazar thinks you should just whistle while you’re raped.

No doubt women will feel much safer today knowing that they are protected by safe zones, whistles and call boxes.

It would be hard to believe that last November Adams County voters could select someone worse that term-limited Judy Solano in House District 31.  They appear however to have done just that in electing Salazar, someone who clearly will fit in well with the Adams Family.

The four measures move on to the State Senate now where, unfortunately, they are likely to pass with flying colors by the Democrat led majority in that chamber.  It is a shame that leftists are more concerned with limiting our rights than they are with tackling real measures that would protect us.

The Adams 12 teachers’ union took on a new tact by getting a local TV reporter to perform a hit job on the district. The report missed and parents should be upset at the unions, not the district.

Residents of the north Denver metro area watched with great interest as KDVR FOX 31 conducted an ‘investigation’ into Adams 12 Five Star Schools’ finances and superintendent Chris Gdowski.  On the surface it appears to be damning but it seems more likely this was gotcha journalism fed by union hate and disinformation.

Investigative reporter Josh Bernstein, a recent transplant to the state that can’t seem to hold a job for more than a couple of years, claims in a heart-wrenching piece that Adams 12 is cooking the books and parents are suffering as a result.

Tipped off by Gina Holub, a former internal auditor for the district, the report claims that the district’s budget misstated costs for salaries and benefits.  She further claims that she was fired when she tried to bring the alleged accounting problems to her supervisors’ attention.

Backing up her claims is Professor James Sorensen of the University of Denver, an expert in accounting that has spent his professional career in academia.  Fed part of the district’s books from Bernstein, Sorensen says that those working the books have questionable ethics.

Adams 12 Five Star School Board member Fred Schaefer and union president Dorian DeLong express outrage at the revelations.

In part two of the report, Bernstein hits Gdowski hard for having allowed his wife Carolyn to post ads for her real estate business on the district’s ‘Employee Marketplace.’  The online bulletin board is routinely used by employees to buy and sell products and merchandise and Bernstein thinks that Gdowski may have unfairly profited from the messages about his wife’s business.

That is a brief summary of the stories as presented by Bernstein on KDVR.  You can watch the videos below.

So what does this mean?  Do we have a bunch of crooks running our school district much like have run county government in recent decades?

Regular readers of these pages know that I am not always a fan of Adams 12.  I have been very hard on the district on how it has managed taxpayer funds as well as a host of other issues – some of which have touched my family quite personally.  However, I simply am not buying the story as presented by FOX 31.

First, let’s look at the players involved:

• Gina Holub could be a heroic whistleblower or she could be a disgruntled employee out to exact revenge.  Given the fact that she has strong union ties, including having acted on the union’s negotiating team against the district, it is pretty clear her loyalties lie with her labor overseers.  It is unlikely she made the accusations because of any real desire to do good.
• Professor James Sorensen is an expert in accounting having chosen to spend his career in academia rather than the real world that you and I live in.  Sorensen was not given the opportunity to discuss the issues with the district and seek an explanation so his conclusions are based on a faulty premise and could likely be easily explained away.
• FOX 31 reporter Josh Bernstein is like most of his type, out for shock value and ratings more than the truth.  Many reporters find themselves moving to different markets occasionally but Bernstein has rarely been able to hold down a job for more than three years.  Bernstein interviewed Gdowski for more than an hour and a half and yet only chose to show a few scant seconds of the superintendent’s comments.  Selective editing?  Most likely.  Additionally, at last night’s Board of Education meeting, Bernstein was seen coaching union members on how to address the board.  Impartial media?  Hardly.  His credibility is shot.
• Dorian DeLong, president of the District Twelve Educators’ Association, appears predominantly in the report but given his union’s opposition to reform, his credibility is questionable.  DeLong is actually not even a classroom teacher but rather spends his days at the ESC ‘advocating’ for teachers while drawing a paycheck paid for by taxpayers.  Yup, that’s right, DeLong is one of the reasons the district has no money as we pay his salary despite the fact he doesn’t teach.  In all, his union rips of Adams 12 taxpayers for nearly three quarter of a million dollars a year.
• Lastly we come to board member Fred Schaefer.  Schaefer appears entirely shocked and indignant about the news he receives from Bernstein.  It is a comical reaction.  Schaefer should be well-remembered for his ties to the Dan Tang / Heavens Dragon scandal as he was implicated as having held the criminal’s money knowing full well Tang was hiding it from law enforcement.  Ethics?  Credibility?  Zero.  Typical member of the Adams Family?  Yes.

Some other quick thoughts

The district hired an outside auditor – one the teachers’ union agreed to – to investigate the accusations previously.  That person said, “The district is not hoarding money and, in fact, is acting prudently in planning for the long-term financial health of the district.”  Interesting.  When the union didn’t get the answers they wanted from the auditor they agreed to, they raise a big stink.

In the second part of the report Bernstein attacks Gdowski over his use of the Employee Marketplace alleging that he used his position as the head of the district unfairly.  This is absolutely asinine.  Gdowski is an employee of the district and had every right to use it as did 4,000 others.  Further, the supposed infractions occurred more than two years ago so are hardly relevant today.  Gdowski did solicit for his wife’s business but so do many other district employees – that is the marketplace’s purpose.  It is there for employees to find trustworthy individuals to do business with as well as to buy and sell goods.  This is such a non-issue FOX 31 and Bernstein should be ashamed for even bringing it up.

Conclusion

As I said earlier, I am the first one to pounce on Adams 12 when there is wrongdoing.  As a ‘community watchdog’ of sorts I take a bit of pleasure in doing so.  However this story smells and those odors are coming from FOX 31, Josh Bernstein and the other major players featured in the “news” story.

Yes, the teachers’ union is upset at the need for their members to pay their fair share but everyone must share the burden of these difficult economic times, just as those that pay their members’ salaries have.  My message to them?  Deal with it.  The unions are there to protect themselves, not to do what is best for your kids or even for their members.  That must not be forgotten and they have admitted it publicly.

The Adams 12 Board of Education under the leadership of Mark Clark has taken on a new course in the last couple of years.  This course has seen the district make respectable gains in academic achievement and huge strides in restoring the district to financial solvency.  The decisions made may not be popular or easy but they are ones that needed to be made and I applaud that.

On the net:

• 2/4/13 – Letter for Adams 12 Superintendent Chris Gdowski
• 2/4/13 – Adams 12 Q & A on news story
• 2/5/13 – Letter for Adams 12 Superintendent Chris Gdowski
• 2/5/13 – Mike Rosen show, 850 KOA, guests include Norm Jennings, Adams 12 District school board member and Fox 31 investigative reporter, Josh Bernstein – Fox 31 hit piece on alleged misuse of funds by Adams 12 school district. MP3 audio download.
• 2/6/13 – Mike Rosen show, 850 KOA, deconstructs Fox 31′s “earthshaking” investigative report on Adams District 12. MP3 audio download.

KDVR Reports on Adams 12 Five Star Schools

From local TV to the national media, the leftist outlets are all too willing to do their part to further an agenda that would disarm our nation’s citizens.  This however is not going as well as they would like.

Three videos recently highlight the public debate on the issue and are very worth your time watching and studying.  They provide case studies on how to push back against those that would take away your rights.

West Virginia’s State Journal tackles the issue and comes out on the losing end.  Host Bray Cary is absolutely demolished in a discussion about gun control by Keith Morgan, president of the West Virginia Citizens Defense League.

MSNBC deceptively edited video of testimony before Congress to further their narrative and make it appear one Sandy Hook father was heckled.  In reality the audience was simply responding to a question posted by Neil Heslin.

That video clip received plenty of air play while yet another, more powerful piece of testimony was largely ignored.  Bill Stevens has a daughter that attends Sandy Hook Elementary but his take on proposed gun bans is quite different.

“I will tell you here today, you will take my ability to protect my Victoria from my cold, dead hands,” Stevens said.

Lastly, a man that is not even a citizen of the United States continues to try to wield influence over what is at heart an American issue.  CNN’s Piers Morgan continues his anti-gun crusade but on a recent visit to Texas, rocker Ted Nugent put the smug Brit in his place telling him “You are so full of crap.”