Liberty on the Rocks™ Denver

By Julian Dunraven, J.D., M.P.A.
Honorable Friends:
Heeding the overwhelming will of the people– and perhaps at last developing a bit of good sense– the U.S. Senate has rejected the idea of a bailout for the Detroit automakers. If we were still following that dusty old parchment called the U.S. Constitution, the matter would have ended there, [...]

An article in the New York Times verifies what many of us suspected: economic downturns are good for certain churches. The paper notes that “evangelical churches around the country… have enjoyed steady growth over the last decade. But since September, pastors nationwide say they have seen… a burst of new interest…”
There seem to be two [...]

By Julian Dunraven, J.D., M.P.A.
Honorable Friends,
Whenever any religion seeks to turn dogma into law, society should be wary. Inevitably, when dogma becomes law, liberty, reason, and true scientific inquiry all suffer. It is not hard to find examples. Just look at the disasters which befell the Catholic Church with Copernicus and Galileo. [...]

Terence Jeffrey pointed to an article by William Kristol for the New York Times that argues against “small-government conservatism.” Following I summarize Kristol’s reasons.
* Though Jeb Bush has railed against “big-government” policies, “in his two terms [as the governor of Florida] state spending increased over 50 percent.”
* “Five Republicans have won the presidency since 1932: [...]

Yesterday I noted that two Colorado Republican leaders continue to insist that their party promote faith-based politics. Today Gregg Jackson continues the crusade to ban abortion in his column for Town Hall.
Jackson’s goal, and his advise for Republicans, is “To end abortion… to believe that all life, both born and unborn, is an unalienable right [...]

By Julian Dunraven, J.D., M.P.A.
Honorable Friends:
In prior posts, I have made my disdain for the economic bailouts abundantly clear. Thus, I have not been at all surprised that the bailouts have failed so miserably to solve the financial crisis over these past several weeks of extreme volatility. What has surprised me a bit is the [...]

If Colorado Republican leaders Mark Hillman and John Andrews are any indication, the Republican Party will remain the Party of Faith and will continue to attempt to impose religious doctrine by force of law.
Andrews begins a recent column, “What many call a concern for social issues, I call a passion for protection of the human [...]

By Julian Dunraven, J.D., M.P.A.
Honorable Friends:
In its waning days, the Bush administration has at last given us something to celebrate. And no, I am not simply referring to its imminent departure. Today, the Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Fish, Wildlife and Parks, Lyle Laverty, announced new regulations recognizing an individual’s right to [...]

Following the Republican defeat in Colorado and across the nation, Mark Hillman, a leading Republican voice in Colorado, took Thanksgiving as an opportunity to remind his party of its Christian allegiance, despite the fact that the party’s faith-based politics has been its downfall.
Hillman notes that the phrase “separation of church and state” does not appear [...]