This report in today's Colorado Springs Gazette prompted the following letter of protest to Academy Superintendent Michael Gould, acting in my capacity as High Priest (3rd Degree) in the North American Temple of Dionysus, Colorado Springs Chapter. We Dionysians have long borne the brunt of various forms of...

Americans take reliable and affordable energy so much for granted that they've developed a reckless contempt for the companies and people that provide it to them. They must think their homes are electrified and heated by magic, given the disdain they show for coal mines, drilling rigs, power plants, nuclear...

Our new governor likes to strike the pose of a perpetual political amateur -- as a microbrewer first, politico second or maybe third, who's still really getting his bearings in the cold, hard world of rough-and-tumble politics. The aw-shucks shtick reassures the jaded, disarms critics and allows John Hickenlooper to...

"Tiny Flower Saved from Extinction," is how the New York Times headlined its report about the Maguire daisy, which was removed this week from the endangered species list after a near-miraculous recovery assisted by good old Uncle Sam. Or that's what readers were led to believe.

"The delisting...

As a Michigan native I'm partial to wolverines, even if they haven't won a Rose Bowl in too many years. But I still think Colorado would be crazy to welcome the reintroduction of the animals to the state, given the headaches we face with current listings and the...

Boulder's social engineers apparently never heard the old adage about leading horses to water.

Gang Granola is trying to force healthier eating habits on area school kids, but the effort is faltering and losing money, according to this report in today's Daily Camera, indicating that the kids can't...

Governor-elect John Hickenlooper said all the right things during a Colorado Springs appearance Thursday morning, and he was rewarded accordingly, with three -- count 'em, three -- standing ovations from a crowd that seemed to be going out of its way to dispel nasty rumors that this is...

Microbrewmeister John Hickenlooper is touted as the most business-savvy of the gubernatorial candidates. It's this quality, above all others, that earned him the endorsement of the Colorado Springs Gazette and Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce. But you can have success as a businessman while not knowing much about economics, as...

Rampant NIMBYism is reaching new heights, literally, as residents of rural Colorado rise up in opposition to a proposed modest increase in the number of low-level military training flights over the area. Perhaps this new permutation of NIMBY should be dubbed NIMA -- short for "not in my...

If you want a quick snapshot of how maddeningly hard it can be to get anything -- anything -- done on federal land, given the endless layers of "process" one must wade through, consider the case of Kimberly Appelson, 23, whose body has been wedged under a rock in the...

Writing in the Denver Post, State Sen. Josh Penry (who represents a district on the Western Slope) makes a convincing case for why an energy tax hike proposed by President Barack Obama would deliver a potentially-devastating blow to consumers and businesses in Colorado, at a moment in time...

I may be a little biased on the subject, having "earned" a few "D"s back in the day, but I can't help suspect that the push to banish the "D" from school report cards represents yet another attempt to water-down standards, all in the name of inflating GPAs...

There are numerous silver linings in Colorado's not having made the final cut in Barack Obama's Dash for the Cash, the administration's crude attempt to spur school reform by bribing states with borrowed money.

The most obvious of these, as any 6th grader can tell you, is...

Does the Tea Party movement have political muscle?

The question's been asked many times by reporters and pundits, applying an unusual degree of skepticism even for the media. Most were dismissive of the movement from the start, giving it snide or scant coverage. And when it refused to just...

U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy -- the go-to guy for green extremists looking for a friendly court -- on Friday ordered that reintroduced gray wolves be returned to the endangered species list, ruling that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service could not delist the animals in two states...

The American Spectator has a thorough write-up on the recently-released FBI dossier on Howard Zinn, whose textbook, A People's History of the United States, was widely used in many schools and undoubtedly left a lasting impression (the wrong impression, too often) on many a malleable young mind.

That...

Watching the self-destruction of Colorado Republicans is partly dreadful, partly fascinating, but almost impossible to ignore -- much like the way one feels when sneaking a peek while passing a car wreck. If there was any chance of the GOP mounting a respectable challenge to John Hickenlooper, that chance officially...

I ran across a quote today I thought would make a good pop quiz.

So, who said the following?

I believe we should be providing the best quality government in the most efficient manner. The cornerstones for good government are engaged citizen feedback, dedicated customer service and continuous...

It's the kind of fawning media treatment any politician would die for -- in any normal election year. But it might just be the kiss of death for Sen. Michael Bennet, given the angry, anti-Washington mood that prevails.

I'm talking about the swooning coverage Bennet has received not from...

Folks who thought the Pinon Canyon controversy was all about expansion plans need to catch up. Protesters have moved the goal posts so often that they might as well be on wheels. Just when you think this dead horse can't be flogged any more, the flogging