News Miner 74
Polis, libertarianism, school seclusion, Republicans, YIMBYs, the Benson Center and the rule of law, fake documents, gun laws, excellent drivers, and more.
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Stossel on Polis
Complete Colorado published my new column, “Jared Polis’ libertarian side needs work.” An excerpt:
My paper last year, “The Tax and Regulate Reality Behind Governor Polis’s Libertarian Image,” detailed many of Polis’ anti-liberty policies to that point. This year, Polis supported the deceptive Proposition HH, which promises to cut property taxes but actually allows huge net increases in property taxes while also costing us TABOR refunds. He forced some people to subsidize others’ abortions through insurance premiums. He imposed waiting periods and age restrictions on gun buyers in clear violation of Colorado’s Constitutional protections. He imposed new controls on property owners in the rental market. This is just a taste.
Nevertheless, Polis does have some definite pro-liberty leanings, as I discuss. He signed a bill making it easier for minors to start an “occasional” business, he voices support for replacing the income tax, he speaks out for freer immigration and against tariffs, he’s relatively critical of the drug war, and he champions freer housing development. (This is not a comprehensive list.)
Read the entire piece.
Quick Takes
Seclusion Room: Jessica Seaman: “Denver Public Schools is investigating the use of a seclusion room at McAuliffe International School, with Board of Education members demanding to know whether students of color were locked inside such a room at the school by themselves—a violation of district policy.” Is the District Attorney investigating this too? As a document posted by Mandy Connell relates, one parent of a student placed in the room in question supports its use. There’s talk of banning seclusion rooms.
Electric Housing: Some developers are going all-electric. Of course, this means at the point of the home; most electricity in Colorado is generated by burning fossil fuels.
Prop. HH: Krista Kafer doesn’t like it one bit. The teachers’ union loves it.
Republicans: Some people in the state GOP tried to default central committee votes to favor booting independents from primary votes. Again, the proper solution is to separate party and state, stop tax-funding primaries, and implement approval voting.
YIMBY: John Aguilar: “Four years ago, voters passed a measure to limit the pace of residential growth in [Lakewood]. . . . House Bill 23-1255, signed into law by Gov. Jared Polis in early June, prohibits the implementation of ‘anti-growth’ policies—which typically take the form of annual limits on the number of approved housing permits—in any Colorado community.” Good!
Geothermal: Alex Brown: Fracking!
Benson Center: Last time, I mentioned Todd Zywicki’s classes through the Benson Center on the rule of law. Chase Woodruff has delivered one of his signature pieces on the matter. Here’s the head and subhead: “CU program that hosted John Eastman to teach about ‘woke’ threats to rule of law: Todd Zywicki appointed to role previously held by alleged Trump co-conspirator in 2020 election subversion.” The first two paragraphs: “Two years ago, a visiting faculty member at the University of Colorado Boulder’s conservative Benson Center held his post while allegedly conspiring to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. Beginning this month, his successor in the center’s Visiting Scholar in Conservative Thought and Policy position will teach CU students about the threats the ‘woke’ left poses to the rule of law.” And the conclusion: “Under [Daniel] Jacobson’s leadership, the Benson Center touts itself as a ‘forum for free inquiry and open debate.’ Jacobson didn’t respond to emailed questions about Zywicki’s appointment.”
Dark Brandon: Matthew Yglesias: “Nobody realizes it but [Colorado’s own Tobin Stone] is the most important political figure of our time.”
Fake Documents: Phil Weiser: “Attorney General Phil Weiser announced today that his office won a court ruling late last week ordering an Aurora-based company, PropDoks, and its owner, Erdis Moore, III, to temporarily halt operations at its Denver storefront after an investigation found the company engaged in fraudulent and deceptive trade practices. The ruling also froze company assets. . . . PropDoks sold the type of documents that would normally be generated by government agencies such as vehicle titles, tax documents, temporary vehicle license plates, U.S. military deployment papers, and COVID-19 vaccination records. The company even sold court orders including child custody and emergency protection orders that contained a false judge’s signature.”
Gun Laws: A federal judge issued a preliminary injunction blocking the law forbidding people under 21 from buying a gun.
Courts: Bruce Finley: “A special tribunal has issued an unprecedented public censure of former Colorado Supreme Court Chief Justice Nathan ‘Ben’ Coats for violating the state’s judicial code of conduct when he allowed a $2.75 million contract with a former top courts administrator.” The contract, which later was cancelled, was allegedly a payoff for silence regarding “high court judges’ misconduct.”
Sigh: Posted without further comment:
Hi Ari, don't know if you saw this: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/aug/03/colorado-city-housing-growth-caps
By "approval voting" do you mean ranked choice voting, or some other system? Personally, I think ranked choice is the way to up and down the ballot.