Where is summer?  A cold, damp weather pattern has dominated Northern Colorado since before Memorial Day weekend.  According to Long Range Expert Joe Bastardi, this is no surprise.  Bastardi predicts that “areas from the northern Plains into the Northeast will have a ‘year without a summer.’”

In addition, the weather pattern has brought more intense thunderstorms.  Just last weekend a young man from Evans died from a lightning strike.

Makes me wish for the days of global warming.

It expensive to micromanage the lives of all Americans but we must have the cash since we allow, even encourage, overnment to do it.  Join the Independence Institute for an intellectually powerful panel event on the cost of nannyism.  Below is the press release, schedule of events, cost and how to RSVP.  I will be there!

 For Immediate Release
June 5, 2009
Contact: Jon Caldara, president, jon@i2i.org or 303-279-6536

Think tank to host nanny panel at former Playboy Club: Nationally recognized civil libertarians to gather for symposium at Denver’s Warwick Hotel

Golden, Colo. — An all-star panel of civil libertarians will gather on Friday, June 19, for an event titled ATF/Freedom Underground.

During the event, panelists and participants will discuss the cost and philosophy of nannyism as well as strategies for combatting government encroachment into everything from boardrooms to bedrooms.

Independence Institute president Jon Caldara quipped, “It’s amazing how much time the government spends micormanaging our lives. It even tells us what type of lightbulbs we have to use in our bedrooms.”

The list of panelists reads like a Who’s Who of civil libertarians including Radley Balko, theagitator.com, from Reason, David Martosko of the Center for Consumer Freedom, Andrew Breitbart from Breitbart.com and Big Hollywood, syndicated columnist and author David Harsanyi, Jordan Lipp, of the Colorado Civil Justice League, Andrew Boucher of Boucher Strategies and NoCoPolitics.com, and David Kopel and Linda Gorman of the Independence Institute.

The panel event will be held at the former Playboy Club, the Warwick Hotel, 1776 Grant St, in downtown Denver. The $95 cost includes lunch, panel and dinner. Special pricing for media and legislators is available by visiting the ATF/Freedom Underground Web page. A schedule of the panel event is provided below.

The Independence Institute is a non-partisan, non-profit public policy research organization based in Golden, Colo.

Now I don’t want to be critical of the hardworking men and women of the Customs and Border Patrol Agency.  They have an impossible task — trying to keep out hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants — without all the necessary resources.  However, it seems that they are, at least somewhat, part of the problem.  According to a new investigative report from Independence Institute report and founder of Complete Colorado Todd Shepherd, Customs and Border Patrol has a difficult time keeping track of its own equipment.

The Customs and Border Patrol agency is tasked with tracking things as diverse as goods coming into the country, as well as the entry of persons (both legal and illegal) into the U.S. But according to documents obtained by the Independence Institute, Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) has a difficult time keeping possession of the very assets that enable them to do their job, items like computers, digital cameras, and night-vision goggles. This massive, 59 page document from the Department of Homeland Security details property that became “Lost, Stolen or Damaged” in the CBP’s control during the calendar year 2007. (The 2007 inventory is the most recently available from the Department of Homeland Security.)

A few of the missing items include:

Seems this is just another reason to embrace transparency in government – at least if we can’t get the items back maybe we will know where they go.

No it’s not a new libertarian drink but it is a fairly new organization that will have it’s inaugrual Fort Collins Chapter meeting on Wednesday, February 25 from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Maya Cove.  I love how Liberty on the Rocks describes itself:

Liberty on the Rocks: A splendid mix of grass roots activism, libations, and good conversation. We are a group of citizens who endeavor to limit the reach of government into our personal lives, to ensure life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Join us for a meeting of the minds to discuss ways we can further our cause of liberty.

Join me and other freedom fighters for liberty and libations this Wednesday night.  Also, tune in tomorrow (Tuesday) to hear Liberty on the Rocks president Amanda Teresi discuss how she got it all started.

Here’s to Liberty!

The forces of evil tried to shut me up.  Eventually the righteous always triumphs over evil.   Anyways, I am back and look forward to regular blog posts once again.

You can get regular updates about my radio show, The Amy Oliver Show, at Twitter.  Visit www.twitter.com/AmyOliverShow.

Also, I’m a regular contributor to another blog Colorado Spending Transparency or COST.  As Director of the Independence Institute’s Colorado Transparency Project, I follow all aspects of transparency in government.

I’m glad to be back!