We were for it before we were against it…

In June the Greeley Tribune wrote in a house editorial “we’re supporting Amendment 47, the so-called Right-To-Work measure.”   I agreed with them because Right-to-Work simply says that an employer  cannot require an employee to join a union or pay “agency fees” as a condition of employment.

As someone who reads the Tribune, I found the June editorial to be refreshingly decisive.   Normally, Tribune editorials are left of center and milk toast — the typical “we can see both sides but” argument. Something I learned in journalism school and reinforced by a number or editors I admire, good editorials take a position with decisiveness.  

So I was proud when the Tribune endorsed Amendment 47 with forceful language.  

The way things stand now, many unions, under collective bargaining agreements, require every worker to pay union fees. If they don’t want to join the union, that doesn’t matter. They pay anyway. Even if they’re opposed to unions, they pay anyway.

That’s extortion and exploitation, and that’s why we’re supporting Amendment 47, the so-called Right-To-Work measure.

The measure makes unions get their money the old-fashioned way. They have to earn it.

The measure makes it illegal for collective bargaining agreements to force employees to pay fees to a union.”

Honestly, that sounds like something I would say.  

And the Tribune didn’t stop there.   The house editorial went on to suggest that if unions were disbanded “we don’t believe that would be a bad thing.”     The editorial board called unions “bloated agencies more interested in protecting themselves through draconian laws that force workers to pay them instead of earning a worker’s trust…”   OUCH!

Fast forward to  October 23, 2008.   The  Tribune does a complete 180 on Amendment 47.    In a house editorial, the Greeley daily paper  claims that Colorado’s unique Labor-Peace Act is not broken  ”so it doesn’t need to be fixed, and that’s why you should vote no on Amendment 47.”

The editorial board now claims three reasons to oppose Right-to-Work.   First, it isn’t worth amending the state constitution.   Second the board states, “we believe labor unions still have a place in our work force.”   What happened to extortion and exploitation? Third, the Tribune now is worried about what Amendment 47 would do to labor unions.   So much so that they wrote, “this law would weaken labor unions.”   Just a few months ago they stated that weakened labor unions wouldn’t be such a bad thing.  

Once again, the Tribune fails to account for history.   It was the labor unions that tried to destroy the Labor-Peace Act during the last legislative session with now infamous HB-1072.   The only reason why HB-1072 isn’t the law of the land, our Governor got scared and vetoed it.   He  isn’t opposed to HB-1072. He agreed with ‘the sentiment of the bill but vetoed it because of the surrounding rhetoric “sinking us into cynical politics.”‘  

The question is what happened to change the editorial board’s collective mind so dramatically.   I asked Tribune editor Randy Bangert that very thing in an email.   His response: “We don’t think the current labor situation in Colorado is broken, and thus it doesn’t need fixing.   Upon further reflection, we thought our earlier position was off base.”

Everyone has a right to change his or her mind, but this was pretty dramatic.   Color me skeptical.

I just left the Obama/Biden rally at the University of Northern Colorado.   4th Congressional democrat candidate Betsy Markey introduced VP candidate Joe Biden.   During her remarks, she said 98 percent of  Greeley households  will receive a tax cut under Barack Obama’s economic plan.     Jim Dyal of the Tampa Tribune cited the U.S. Census report when he wrote, “the wealthiest 2 percent of Americans paid nearly half of all the taxes. And now consider this: The wealthiest 2 percent of Americans pay an average of $322,000 in taxes while the remainder of taxpayers (98 percent of them) pay an average of $3,037.”   At this point, it seems that 98 percent of  Greeley residents  should just stay home and wait for  their check from the other 2 percent.   Tomorrow, I’m calling in sick!

Seriously, at what point do we stop punishing the productive? Stop being envious of their success? Start learning from them rather than taking from them?   Probably when there is nothing left to take.    Funny thing is, while I’ve always considered myself successful — I have a house, a car, clothes, food and enough money to take an occasional vacation — I’m nowhere near the top 2 percent.   But I thank God for them because they create most of the jobs in this country.  

According to my sources, the crowd was estimated to be about 3000 people.   Not nearly as many as Sarah Palin had  yesterday at the Budweiser Event Center.  

Here’s how I am voting on the 14 ballot issues we are facing this fall.

Referendum L: Lower the age requirement to serve in the Colorado General Assembly from 25 to 21 years old.   NO.  My take: 21 is too young to make public policy affecting millions of people.

Referendum M:  Eliminate obselete constitutional provisions regarding land value increases.   YES.

Referendum N: Eliminate obselete constitutional provisions regarding "intoxicating liquors. "    YES.

Referendum O:  Change the rules for amending the constitution. NO. My take: won’t keep well-funded special interest groups from getting constitutional amendments on the ballot but it will be prohibitive for those at the grassroots level.
 

Amendment 46 "“ Colorado Civil Rights Initiative: YES. My take:  in order to realize Martin Luther King’s dream of a color blind society, we have to do away with gender and race preferences.

Amendment 47 "“ Right to Work.  YES. My take: no employee should be forced to join a union or pay “agency fees” as a condition of employment.   It’s un-American.

Amendment 48 "“ Definition of Person Initiative: NO. My take: I fear the unintended legal consequences of this ballot measure.   I hate abortion and that’s where the discussion should be. If this passes, I will blame the abortion industry for never giving an inch on “abortion rights” and forcing this issue.    BTW — my husband Weld County Sheriff John Cooke disagrees with me and will vote in favor.

Amendment 49 "“ Ethical Standards in Payroll. YES.   My take: Government should not be the collection agent/bagman for special interests — a no brainer.

Amendment 50 "“ Limited Gaming. NO.   My take:  If for one little word I might consider voting yes.   Three mountain towns will lose local control and with funding tied to community colleges, the future of Black Hawk, Central City and Cripple Creek will be in the hands of casinos and colleges.

Amendment 51 "“ Sales Tax for Developmentally Disabled Initiative. NO. My take: No taxation without information! Where did all the Ref C money go?
 

Amendment 52 "“ Severance Tax and Transportation Initiative. YES.   My take: I’m sick of the HUTF being raided for the legislature’s pet project.   And yes, roads and transportation infrastructure  are a function of government.   Beauty is with Amendment 52 we fund transportation without raising taxes.

Amendment 54 "“ Clean Government Initiative. YES.   My take: I can’t believe it is legal to donate to a campaign then turn around and get a no-bid contract.   This amendment takes care of pay-to-play.

Amendment 58 "“ Severance Tax Initiative. NO.   My take:  In principle I’m opposed to tax increases but this one is truly horrible.   It will raise energy costs for consumers and destroy jobs.   It will be particularly painful for Weld County which gets an enormous amount of revenue from oil and gas extraction. It sounds like an economic  horror show!

Amendment 59 "“ Savings Account for Education. NO. My take: Will be the death of TABOR and increase taxes for Coloradans.   The money goes to the biggest lobbying group in the nation — public education.   Question:   Where did all the Ref C money go?   Remember: No taxation without information!

Politicians who embrace transparency are my heroes.   It shows respect for taxpayers.   Long live my motto (adopted from the Sam Adams Alliance):   No taxation without information!

I wrote a couple of months ago about my crusade to bring transparency to my  community, including my school district — Greeley/Evans District 6,  my city —  Greeley, my county —  Weld County and ultimately  my state  of Colorado.    I am pleased to announce that Weld County Commissioners Bill Jerke, Dave Long, Doug Rademacher, Bill Garcia and Rob Masden have placed the County’s check registry online for taxpayers to review.   It’s a pretty basic listing — not searchable and no context so taxpayers may have some questions about where their money is going.   Also, according to the website, the “warrants” will be available for only 30 days.  

Still, this is a step in the right direction.   It is  a victory for taxpayers. Weld County is the first county in Colorado to put its check registry online.   We should thank our Weld County Commissioners and encourage them to continue their efforts to make Weld County a model of transparency.     At a time when so many people are losing faith in government, thanks to the Weld County Commissioners for having faith in taxpayers.

As for Greeley,  according to Mayor Ed Clark and Councilwoman  Pam Shaddock, Greeley city staff is  reviewing my suggestion to create a searchable database for all city expenditures.   While Greeley studies it, our neighbor to the west Fort Collins is implementing transparency thanks to the hard work of Councilman Diggs Brown.  

We’ll wait to see what happens at the state level.

If government wants more of our money, the least it can do is have the common courtesy to tell us how our money is being spent.   Remember: No taxation without information!

According to the Coloradoan, Fort Collins City Councilman Diggs Brown has been called into service by the Colorado Army National Guard.   Diggs “is being mobilized as part of the global war on terror and will be sent to the Army’s Special Operations Command Africa, which is run out of Stuttgart, Germany.”   Diggs has been in the military for 29 years.   He is a major and a Green Beret.   He is one of the good guys.   No wonder the Army wants him back.  

He has served his constituents in District 3 very well.   As I have written before, he has been a champion for taxpayers and government transparency.    With his leadership, Fort Collins became the first municipality to pass a resolution creating a searchable database for all city expenditures and contracts.  

Now Diggs  will serve all of us in the global war on terror.   Bad guys better look out.  

God Bless Diggs Brown.

If you would like to send a quick note to Diggs Brown email him at dbrown@fcgov.com.  

Do you ever feel like  you live in  Topsy Turvy Kingdom, the children’s book where  right becomes wrong and wrong becomes right? Well I do, especially  when the local newspaper  refers to a political candidate’s  possible  violations of state law  as a mere “a  bump in the road.”

I shouldn’t be surprised that the Greeley Tribune endorsed ethically and fiscally challenged Barbara Kirkmeyer, republican candidate for District 3 Weld County Commissioner.  The editorial board  endorsed her in the primary and now, despite being under investigation for violation of Colorado’s “standards  of conduct” laws, the  Tribune endorsed her  for the general election.    They call the possible violation “a bump in the road.”   If you read my previous posts about Kirkmeyer, you know that Colorado had to repay $1.5 million to the federal government due to mismanagement of grant money during her tenure at the  Department of Local Affairs.  I wonder what the Tribune will call it if local municipalities that benefitted from Kirkmeyer’s possibly illegal and unethical grant writing services have to repay those grants?  

The Tribune acknowledges that there is little policy difference between Kirkmeyer and her democrat opponent Tom Pettit and that  ”[b]oth would be solid county commissioners, but in our view Kirkmeyer has an edge in the three E’s — experience, energy and enthusiasm — to receive our endorsement.”

My take on the Tribune’s three E’s:

Experience:   Kirkmeyer’s experience is one of fiscal mismanagement.  Governor Ritter dismissed her.

Energy and Enthusiasm:   Pardon my French but what the hell does that mean?   She is not running for captain of the cheerleading squad?   She is running for an important position in our county.   One that should not be taken lightly.    As a commissioner, she  will  be  responsible for hundreds of county employees and millions of taxpayer dollars.   She also will make policy.   Despite what the Tribune writes, unethical behavior is not merely “a bump in the road.”   With Kirkmeyer, it’s a pattern.    At a time when so many have lost faith in their government, it is unbelievable that the local newspaper would endorse a candidate with such baggage.

As a registered republican in Weld County’s district 3, I can only shake my head in disbelief.   I am voting for Pettit.   As I said before, I disagree with Tom on some policy issues, but I know him to be as honest as the day is long.   I would rather my county commissioner be an honest democrat than a fiscally-challenged  and ethically-questionable republican.  

I have invited Barbara Kirkmeyer to be a guest on my show.   She has not responded to my invitation.

Last week I proudly drove to Denver in my 1994 Cutlass Cierra sporting a NOBAMA bumper sticker courtesy of my friend Brian Eckstine.   It was a dream come true because I pulled in front of one of those overpriced hybrids covered with OBAMA stickers.   My one little opinion statement seemed to upset her.   She whipped around, pulled along side of me, rolled down her window and glared.   My reaction — I just laughed.   It was so much fun!    It’s way to easy to push the  buttons of Obama supporters.     If you read my previous blog on NOBAMA bumper stickers, you will know that it was a dream come true!  

If you are looking for NOBAMA bumper stickers email Brian at SBT123@aol.com or visit Sign by Tomorrow in Fort Collins (just off South Mason)  or Scotch Pine Liquors in Evans (37th Street and 35th Ave)  .