Biden Gears Up for Renewed Fight Against Oil and Gas

A federal judge has ruled the Biden administration must resume allowing oil and gas leasing on federal land and waters, but the administration is saying it will not go down without a fight.

The Biden administration said it will appeal a court ruling allowing the leases, the latest development in a months-long battle between President Joe Biden and the oil and gas industry, even as gas prices continue to rise.

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Denver Spends More on Homeless Than Schools and Police

Denver spent twice as much money on its homeless population than it did on its students and police, a Common Sense Institute August report showed.

The city spent between $41,679 and $104,201 per person on its homeless population, compared to $19,202 per student in K-12 public schools in 2020, according to the report. In total it spent $481 million on healthcare, housing and other services for homeless people, over $100 million more than the Department of Public Safety’s budget.

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Census Bureau Announces States in the South, Northwest Pick up Congressional Seats

Texas and Florida are slated to gain congressional seats during the decennial redistricting process, while California and New York are set to each lose one, the U.S. Census Bureau announced Monday.

The U.S. Census Bureau released the decennial state population and congressional apportionment totals Monday, outlining how many districts each state will have for the next decade. The data also determines how many Electoral College votes each state will have through 2032, and allocates how federal money is distributed to each state for schools, roads and other public projects.

The release was originally scheduled for December, but faced delays due to the coronavirus pandemic and the Trump administration’s unsuccessful effort to exclude non-citizens from the count.

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How Georgia’s Voting Law Compares to Seven Blue, Purple States’ Laws

Flag with ballot form

Democrats have repeatedly denounced the new Georgia election integrity law that requires IDs for absentee ballots, but seldom criticize blue states that have comparable laws on their books—or in some cases, laws making it more difficult to vote than in Georgia.

“Overall, the Georgia law is pretty much in the mainstream and is not regressive or restrictive,” Jason Snead, executive director of the Honest Elections Project, told The Daily Signal. “The availability of absentee ballots and early voting is a lot more progressive than what’s in blue states.”

Here’s a look at how the new Georgia election law stacks up to voting laws in Democrat-leaning blue states.

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Donald Trump Says Georgia’s Voter Integrity Law Didn’t Go Far Enough, Faults Brian Kemp and Geoff Duncan

Former U.S. President Donald Trump criticized Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan this week and suggested Democrats in the state got the better of them. “Too bad the desperately needed election reforms in Georgia didn’t go further, as their originally approved bill did, but the governor and lieutenant governor would not go for it. The watered-down version, that was just passed and signed by Governor Kemp, while better than before, doesn’t have signature matching and many other safety measures, which were sadly left out. This bill should have been passed before the 2020 Presidential Election, not after,” Trump said in a written statement.

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MLB Moves All-Star Game to State that Requires Voter ID

After ditching Atlanta in protest over a new voter integrity law which requires voters to present identification if they wish to vote absentee, Major League Baseball decided to move its All-Star game to Colorado, a state that also requires voter ID. 

In order to register to vote in Colorado, voters are required by law to present some form of government issued identification. The only exception to that rule is a current “utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document that shows the name and address of the elector,” with “current” defined as issued within the previous 60 days before registering to vote. 

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Colorado Joins Growing List of States Who Pledge to Dedicate Their Electoral Votes to the Winner of the Popular Vote

Colorado residents approved a measure Wednesday to join a list of states pledging to award their electoral votes to the presidential candidate who obtains the majority of the popular vote.

Proposition 113 passed with roughly 52% approval from voters, entering Colorado into the Interstate Popular Vote Compact, according to the Denver Post. The state joins 15 other jurisdictions across the U.S., including California, Illinois, New York and Washington, according to the compact’s website.

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Security Guard to Face 2nd-Degree Murder Charges in Denver Shooting

A private security guard who claimed self-defense will face a second-degree murder charge in connection with the shooting death of a man following political rallies last weekend, the Denver district attorney’s office said Thursday.

Matthew Dolloff, 30, will be charged on Monday for killing Lee Keltner, said Denver District Attorney Beth McCann. If convicted, Dolloff, faces up to 48 years in prison, ABC News reports.

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Commentary: Reopening Georgia and Colorado Is a Study in Double Standards

When President Trump first unveiled his three-phase strategy for lifting the job-killing stay-at-home orders imposed by most states in an effort to “flatten the coronavirus curve,” among the first to embrace the guidelines were Govs. Brian Kemp of Georgia and Jared Polis of Colorado. Moreover, their reopening plans were quite similar. Both, for example, will permit hair salons, tattoo parlors, and other personal services to resume operation. Yet the reception by the legacy media and various “experts” has been dramatically different. While the Polis plan has excited little comment, Kemp’s program has been denounced by the press and President Trump’s public health advisors have quite literally disowned it.

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US Senator Says Bureau of Land Management Moving to Colorado

  The Trump administration plans to move the headquarters of the Bureau of Land Management from its current home in Washington to a city in the western state of Colorado, one of the state’s U.S. senators said Monday. Sen. Cory Gardner released a statement saying the new headquarters would be located in Grand Junction, Colorado, and praised the move as a “victory for local communities, advocates for public lands and proponents for a more responsible and accountable federal government.” “The problem with Washington is too many policymakers are far removed from the people they are there to serve,” Gardner said. The Bureau of Land Management is part of the U.S. Interior Department and has about 9,000 employees. Currently about 400 of those employees work in Washington, and it is not clear how many would be shifted to the new headquarters. The bureau oversees 1 billion square kilometers of public land, of which 99% is located in 12 western states. Critics of moving the headquarters argue it will make officials less able to work with other federal agencies and members of Congress, and that part of the administration’s motivation is to shrink the number of federal workers through attrition when some…

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Christian Cake Baker’s Attorney: Third Lawsuit Is ‘Rehash’ of ‘Old Claims’

Jack Phillips

by Rachel del Guidice   A Colorado baker is being sued for a third time for refusing to design custom cakes that he says run contrary to his religious beliefs. Jack Phillips, the owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop in Lakewood, Colorado—first sued in 2012 for declining to create a custom cake for a same-sex wedding because of his traditional Christian beliefs—is being sued again, this time for not baking a “birthday cake” to celebrate the gender transition of Autumn Scardina, who now identifies as a transgender woman, according to The Christian Post. In June 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of Phillips 7-2, holding that the Colorado Commission of Civil Rights—which had ruled that Phillips had discriminated unlawfully—demonstrated “clear and impermissible hostility” toward Phillips and his Christian belief that marriage is the union of one man and one woman, as The Daily Signal previously reported. After Phillips’ Supreme Court win, he was sued a second time by the state, this time on Scardina’s behalf, but the suit was dropped when Phillips countersued. A Colorado baker is being sued for a third time for refusing to design custom cakes that he says run contrary to his religious beliefs. Jack Phillips,…

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Experts Debate Impact of Sports Wagering Proposal on Ohio

by Todd DeFeo   Legalizing sports wagering in Ohio could generate $7 million in tax revenue for the state in the first year, a number that could increase to $9 million in the second year. That is on top of $1.3 million in license fees in the first year of operations, and between $300,000 and $500,000 in license fees in subsequent years, according to an estimate from the Legislative Budget Office. House Bill 194 would grant the Ohio Lottery Commission the authority to allow sports gaming in Ohio and effectively bring into the open an existing industry. The move has attracted some of the biggest names in the industry – including Penn National Gaming and MGM Resorts International – to push legislators to proceed with the initiative. “Illegal sports wagering has continued to flourish across all mediums – in person, over the Internet, and most recently through sophisticated mobile applications,” Ayesha Molino, senior vice president of federal government affairs for MGM Resorts International, said in testimony to the House Finance Committee. “Ohio residents currently have convenient access to illegal, unregulated mobile sports wagering sites,” Molino said. “But they lack a legal, properly regulated alternative. And restricting a legal mobile market will not compel people…

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More Local Governments in Colorado Pass Moratoriums on Oil and Gas Development Because of New Regulations

by Derek Draplin   Berthoud and Broomfield are the latest local governments in Colorado to implement a moratorium on oil and gas development following passage of new industry regulations signed into law last month. The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, the state’s regulatory body, issued “objective criteria” that will require additional review of drilling permits, potentially delaying development projects across the state. The criteria includes any applications for oil and gas within a municipality, locations within 2,000 feet of a school, locations within 2,000 feet of occupied buildings, and locations within floodplains or water resource areas. COGCC will now be able to use the 16 criteria to delay permit approvals. “The Director [Jeff Robbins] may delay specific permit determinations until the Director is satisfied that the permit complies with the intent of SB 19-181. If the Director determines that a permit meets the intent of SB 19-181, the Director may approve the permit prior to completion of the referenced rulemakings,” guidance on the criteria said. The bill, signed by Gov. Jared Polis last month, changes the commission’s mission to prioritize  environment, health and safety over industry development. The new law also gives local governments more say in regulating the oil and gas industry. Local…

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Ellison Joins Amicus Brief in Support of Non-Binary Colorado Resident Who Had Passport Denied

  Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced Wednesday that he has joined a “coalition of attorneys general” in defending the “rights of gender non-binary individuals.” According to a press release from Ellison’s office, he is joined in the amicus brief by the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Maine, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington. The case, Zzyym v. Pompeo, centers around Colorado resident Dana Zzyym, who applied for a passport that would “reflect an undisputed fact—that Zzyym was born intersex and is neither male nor female.” “The U.S. Department of State denied the application for the sole reason that Zzyym did not designate ‘M’ or ‘F’ in the field asking for the applicant’s gender and instead identified as ‘intersex.’ Although the Department stated that it would provide a passport listing Zzyym’s gender as ‘M’ or ‘F,’ the Department refused to provide a passport with an ‘X,’ the marker recognized internationally for individuals whose gender is neither male nor female,” the amicus brief explains. The U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado found in a September 2018 ruling that the U.S. Department of State’s gender policy was “arbitrary and capricious and that the passport application denial was in excess…

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Denver Voters Pass Ordinance to Decriminalize Psilocybin Mushroom Possession

by Whitney Tipton   The city of Denver effectively legalized psilocybin mushrooms in Tuesday’s municipal elections by passing an ordinance to decriminalize possession of the hallucinogenic drug. Ordinance 301 passed by 50.56 percent, according to unofficial results the city posted. The ballot language stops short of legalizing the drug, instead barring prosecutors and police from imposing criminal penalties for personal possession for adults 21 or older. “Our victory today is a clear signal to the rest of the country that Americans are ready for a conversation around psilocybin,” Kevin Matthews, director of the “Decriminalize Denver” campaign that led efforts to pass the ordinance, told National Public Radio. The Denver Elections Division will certify the results on May 16. The full text of the ordinance also included a series of medical references in support of psilocybin mushrooms, citing “decreased risk of opioid abuse and dependence,” reduced odds of crime committed by users and “reduced psychological distress and suicidality.” The ordinance also noted psilocybin is the safest of all recreational drugs based on instances of emergency medical treatment, according to the 2017 Global Drug Survey. Some opponents fear Denver is going too far on the heels of Colorado legalizing pot in 2014,…

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Report: Colorado Shooting Suspects Motivated By ‘Revenge And Anger,’ One Suspect Transgender

by Mary Margaret Olohan   The motive of the Colorado shooting suspects “went beyond bullying and involved revenge and anger towards others at the school,” sources close to the investigation told the Denver Channel. The shooting resulted in one death with eight other students wounded. At least one of the suspects had been in therapy and illegally used drugs, the Channel also reported. One of the suspects, Devon Erickson, is an adult while the other unnamed suspect is a minor. Facebook posts reveal that 18-year-old Devon Erickson previously expressed hatred for Christians, according to Heavy. “You know what I hate? All these Christians who hate gays, yet in the bible, it says in Deuteronomy 17:12-13, if someone doesn’t do what their priest tells them to do, they are supposed to die. It has plenty of crazy stuff like that,” Erickson wrote in one Facebook post several years ago. “But all they get out of it is ‘ewwwwww gays.’” The second suspect, identified by police as a “juvenile female” was transitioning from female to male at the time of the attack, the Channel reported. Erickson is a registered Democrat who has praised former President Barack Obama and criticized President Donald Trump…

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Another Democrat Just Jumped Into the 2020 Race

by Evie Fordham   Democratic Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet announced Thursday he is entering the crowded 2020 field for president. “We cannot be the first generation to leave less to our kids, not more. That’s why I’m running for President. Let’s build opportunity for every American and restore integrity to our government,” Bennet announced on Twitter Thursday morning. We cannot be the first generation to leave less to our kids, not more. That’s why I’m running for President. Let’s build opportunity for every American and restore integrity to our government. — Michael Bennet (@MichaelBennet) May 2, 2019 Bennet, 54, is expected to make health care a big part of his presidential platform, but he is not a supporter of Medicare for all like many of his Democratic rivals. Bennet re-introduced his legislation that would create “Medicare-X,” a public option that does not eliminate private health insurance. Health care is something that has been at the forefront of Bennet’s agenda, especially after being diagnosed with prostate cancer, something he revealed to The Colorado Independent earlier in April. “It was detected early. It is highly treatable. I have insurance through Kaiser Permanente. I feel lucky that the doctors found it. I feel…

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Gov Jared Polis Broke the Law to Bring Colorado Out of Compliance With EPA Air Rules, Lawsuit Claims

by Michael Bastasch   Colorado Gov. Jared Polis’s attempt to put a large swath of his state out of compliance with federal air quality regulations allegedly violated the law and state constitution, according to a Tuesday lawsuit. The lawsuit, filed by the pro-industry group Defend Colorado, is asking the Denver County district court to rule the Colorado Air Quality Control Commission violated the law by refusing to consider the group’s petitions to include ozone pollution resulting from international sources and “exceptional events” in its May filing with federal regulators. Failure to do so, the group argues, will take the Denver basin’s non-compliance with EPA regulations from “moderate” to “severe,” triggering more actions to reduce ozone. Those regulations could hurt Colorado’s boom oil and natural gas industry, petitioners worry. “Such a downgrade would deprive Colorado of the flexibility to improve its air quality based on the unique conditions in Colorado and the priorities of Coloradans,” reads Defend Colorado’s complaint. Defend Colorado also asked the court to rule Polis’s actions to violate the state constitution. The group filed suit Tuesday evening. The suit accuses Polis of “improperly influencing the Commission’s decision to deny Defend Colorado’s Petition” and “unilaterally and improperly withdrawing Colorado’s…

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Colorado Sheriff James Van Beek Says He Won’t Enforce ‘Red Flag’ Gun Control Law

by Nick Givas   Eagle County Sheriff James Van Beek said he will refuse to enforce Colorado’s new “red flag” gun control law, during a Monday interview on “Fox & Friends.” The statue says firearms may be taken away from citizens who are deemed dangerous, but who may not have broken any laws. “I just became very, very concerned because of the whole way they went about it. It was supposed to be for mental health. It was supposed to be for taking care of people … and at least in my opinion, they went about the process totally backwards,” Van Beek said. “They went after the people’s rights. They went after [it] in a manner that I didn’t think gave them due process because they said, ‘well we need to do these things. We need to take these things away from them. We need to take these tools away from them.’ But they never provided any kind of assistance. So there was no outlet. So to me there wasn’t any kind of due process.” Van Beek said family members or friends who are concerned about someone’s mental health can now go to court and have their guns taken away. “Either a household member or a…

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Marijuana-Related ER Visits Triple in Colorado

by Joshua Nelson   A toxicology specialist has found a connection between legalized marijuana and a threefold increase in related visits to emergency rooms in Colorado for heart and other issues, confirming that cannabis poses health risks. Marijuana may be a recreational activity for many, but marijuana-infused “edibles” in particular have been subject to scrutiny because of their ties to a jump in patients seeking medical treatment. The new study from researchers with the University of Colorado School of Medicine found that marijuana-related ER visits tripled between 2012 and 2016. The study also found that people consuming marijuana edibles suffer from toxic reactions at higher rates than those who simply smoke the drug. These edibles typically include brownies and other baked goods. Dr. Andrew Monte, an associate professor at the medical school’s Anschutz campus, was lead author of the research paper published Tuesday in the Annals of Internal Medicine, touted as the first study to show an increased rate of adverse health events linked to marijuana edibles. “Some patients will have psychosis, hallucinations, or they will hear things,” Monte, also an emergency medicine and toxicology specialist at the UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital, told the website UCHealth. “The more common…

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Commentary: Leftists’ Efforts to Ruin the Electoral College Gains Steam as 181 Votes Now Go to the Popular Winner of Presidential Elections

by Jarrett Stepman   Colorado is joining a list of states attempting to overturn the way Americans have selected their presidents for over two centuries. The Colorado Legislature recently passed a bill to join an interstate effort called the “interstate compact,” to attempt to sidestep the Electoral College system defined by the Constitution. Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, called the Electoral College an “undemocratic relic” and vowed to sign the bill into law. So far, 12 states representing 172 Electoral College votes have passed the initiative into law. With the addition of Colorado (which has nine votes), that number will rise to 181. They need 270 for the compact to go into effect. It would then undoubtedly be challenged in the courts. Some major voices on the left were gleeful about the potential change. Time to make Electoral College a vestige of the past. It’s undemocratic, forces candidates to ignore majority of the voters and campaign in a small number of states. The presidency is our one national office and should be decided – directly – by the voters https://t.co/OyRbXOiBpz — Eric Holder (@EricHolder) February 26, 2019 While the Constitution, intentionally, gives wide latitude to states to create their own electoral…

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Denver Teachers Strike Over Pay

Denver teachers went on strike Monday after failing to reach a deal with administrators on pay. The school district said schools will remain open during the strike and will be staffed by administrators and substitute teachers. However, the district has canceled classes for 5,000 preschool children because it doesn’t have the staff to take care of them. Teachers started picketing before the start of the school day and students crossed through the picket lines on their way to class in some locations. At a press conference Monday morning, union leaders expressed frustration at failed talks to reach a deal over the weekend. Union president Henry Roman said teachers were committed to reaching a deal but said that both sides needed a cooling off period. Another negotiation session is expected Tuesday. “They need us. They need our labor, they need our minds, they need our talents to really make it happen,” lead union negotiator Rob Gould said. The main sticking points in the talks over a contract governing Denver’s incentive pay system, which started over a year ago, are lowering bonuses to put more money in teachers’ base pay and how to allow teachers to advance in pay based on education…

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Colorado State Senate Votes to Strip the People’s Voice in Presidential Elections

voters polling place

by Jay Whig   Colorado, having cast its electoral votes for a loser in the 2016 presidential election, may not be content merely to be a one-time loser. The Colorado State Senate voted Tuesday – along party lines – to adopt Senate Bill 19-042, a bill to require that Colorado’s electors vote in presidential elections according to the national popular vote. The remarkable lesson Colorado Democrats have taken from their 2016 loss: best to forego a say in presidential elections altogether. It is hard to keep up with this sort of political genius. Had a law like SB 19-042 been in effect in 2016, it would have made not an iota of difference. Colorado’s electors cast their ballots for the candidate who won the national popular vote, because that is how the people of Colorado chose to vote. But if the bill clears the Colorado State House – sources say it is assured to win the governor’s signature – that exercise of political choice will be a thing of the past. Coloradans’ votes in the only national elections in America will be like – well, you know – to a gelding, just a memory. It can’t be lost on Colorado Democrats that there is no…

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Judiciary Committee Freshman Democrat Rep. Joe Neguse Floats Perjury Probe of Justice Brett Kavanaugh

by Kevin Daley   Democratic U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse of Colorado, a freshman member of the House Judiciary Committee, told constituents the panel will likely investigate Justice Brett Kavanaugh for perjury. “There’s no question [Kavanaugh] committed perjury during the confirmation hearings and so forth,” Neguse said when asked if the justice might be impeached. “I think the Judiciary Committee is likely to take that up.” A conservative opposition research group obtained and disseminated video of Neguse’s comments. The congressman was not specific as to which of Kavanaugh’s statements might rise to the level of perjury. Democrats have put forward various theories as to how Kavanaugh misled the Senate Judiciary Committee during his confirmation hearings: One theory, which NBC News advanced, held that he lied concerning when he first learned about the allegations of Deborah Ramirez, a Yale classmate who accused Kavanaugh of drunkenly exposing himself to her at a party. In response to questions from lawmakers during his second confirmation hearing, Kavanaugh said he first learned of Ramirez’s claims from The New Yorker, the venue in which her story appeared. NBC subsequently recovered text messages revealing the justice and his allies were discussing Ramirez’s allegations before the story’s publication, prompting charges…

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Colorado Governor Extends Unemployment Benefits to All Federal Workers During Shutdown

Gov. Jared Polis (D-CO) has opened up unemployment benefits for all federal employees working without pay in the state as the government shutdown carries on. “I have authorized an emergency rule that makes unpaid federal workers eligible for unemployment benefits, whether they are reporting for work or not,” Polis said in a Friday statement. “Many federal employees can’t afford to go without a paycheck for a month or longer—Congress needs to re-open the government, but in the meantime, our state will do everything we can to help Coloradans.” Prior to his announcement, only furloughed workers were eligible for unemployment benefits, since the law requires people to be out of work, not just working without pay, to qualify. Polis’ office said that 2,416 furloughed workers had already taken advantage of unemployment benefits, according to Colorado Politics. Under Polis’ emergency rule, essential employees who have been working without pay, such as TSA agents or IRS workers, can now apply for unemployment benefits. “Those federal employees who are required to report for work are feeling the same economic squeeze as those who have been furloughed,” Polis said. “They should not be denied the immediate financial assistance provided by unemployment benefits while being mandated…

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Judge Says Christian Baker Jack Phillips’ Lawsuit Against Civil Rights Officials Can Proceed

by Kevin Daley   A federal judge in Denver rejected Colorado’s bid to dismiss a lawsuit alleging that state civil rights officials are waging a campaign of harassment against Jack Phillips, the Christian baker at issue in the landmark Masterpiece Cakeshop case. Three weeks after Phillips prevailed at the Supreme Court, a state anti-discrimination panel issued a new probable cause finding against him, arising from his refusal to create a gender transition cake for a would-be patron called Autumn Scardina. In turn, Phillips’ attorneys charged the panel with acting in bad faith, and asked a federal court to stop the new prosecution. “Colorado is acting in bad faith and with bias toward Jack,” said Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) attorney Jim Campbell, who represents Phillips. “We look forward to moving forward with this lawsuit to ensure that Jack isn’t forced to create custom cakes that express messages in conflict with his faith.” The state asked U.S. District Judge Wiley Daniel to dismiss the lawsuit on three grounds: First, the state argued that the case should be dismissed because of legal rules that forbid federal courts from intervening in ongoing state court proceedings. Second, Colorado said that the 11th Amendment — which…

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Colorado Uses ‘Side-Door’ Tactic to Appoint Unelected Officials to State Legislature

Iman Jodeh is hoping to be selected to fill a Colorado Senate seat being vacated by Democrat Daniel Kagan, who resigned as an investigation was heating up about his repeated use of the women’s rest room in the State Capitol. Jodeh, the daughter of Palestinian immigrants who was born and raised in Colorado, is competing with two others for the seat. The appointee will be chosen in January by a Vacancy Committee, not by the governor. According to a recent analysis by The Colorado Sun, the “side-door entrance” to the Colorado Legislature has been used increasingly of late to choose lawmakers whom the voters themselves might not have wanted. The replacements won’t get picked by voters, but rather by a vacancy committee of activists from the party that holds the seat. Colorado is one of only five states to use this kind of partisan process, which gives appointment panels outsized influence in shaping the legislature and public policy. According to The Sun, one in four sitting legislators were given the seat by the Vacancy Committee. Jodeh, 36, wants the job of representing Senate District 26, which includes Littleton, Englewood, and parts of Aurora. She told Westword that her community includes…

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U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado Says He Is Thinking About Presidential Bid

U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., said he is thinking about a presidential bid in 2020. Bennet made the statement Tuesday to Yahoo News podcast “The Long Game,” the site said, which added: Bennet has reportedly been talking to staff in Iowa ahead of the first-in-the-nation caucus there and would join the enormous field of Democrats likely to seek the nomination in 2020, which is more than 30 names long. Bennet, 54, carries himself in a low-key manner but has impressive credentials, and has been considered a rising Democratic star. Former President Obama mentioned him among a handful of young Democrats he believed could be national stars, along with Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., and South Bend, Ind.,  Mayor Pete Buttigieg. Denver CBS4 said on Nov. 30 that Bennet was interested in running for president. “I think that we need to figure out as a country what direction we’re heading in. I think we haven’t been heading in the right direction and I think we need to make sure that we have leadership in this country that’s the kind-of leadership that’s actually going to address the problems that we need to confront as a country. I don’t know…

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Apple Is Dropping $1 Billion to Put 5,000 Jobs in Texas With Expansions Planned in Major Cities

by Tim Pearce   Apple is investing $1 billion to nearly double its workforce in Texas and is hiring thousands more employees in offices across the U.S., the company announced Thursday. Apple is adding 5,000 positions to its Austin, Texas, campus on top of the 6,200-strong workforce already there. The tech company is also establishing campuses in San Diego, Seattle and Culver City, California, employing about 1,000 people each. Hundreds more jobs will be added to other offices in places such as New York, Pittsburgh and Boulder, Colorado, by 2022. Apple’s announcement is relatively quiet compared to Amazon’s decision to build headquarters in Long Island City, New York, and Arlington, Virginia. The local and state governments at each location offered Amazon incentives worth millions of dollars. Dozens of other locations across the U.S. competed for Amazon’s attention with tax credits, infrastructure investment and other favors. President Donald Trump gave credit to Amazon for and owner Jeff Bezos for the antics. “I think they’re paying a very big price,” Trump said of Arlington and New York City in a November interview with The Daily Caller. “It was a competition. I know all about those competitions. I’ve been in those competitions —…

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Colorado: Uber Driver Arrested for Allegedly Kidnapping and Making Unwanted Advances on Teen Passenger

Ahmed Muse was arrested in Jefferson County last Sunday morning after an incident involving a teenage passenger the night before. The sheriff’s office moved quickly and as of Monday night the 29-year-old Muse was still behind bars facing charges that included second degree kidnapping, false imprisonment, and harassment. On Tuesday, he was assigned a public defender and bond was set at $50,000. According to several news accounts and an interview by Fox affiliate KDVR-TV with the teenager identified as Brianna Allen and her mother Shamara Ludwig, Muse broke Uber’s rules on ride sharing, but that was just the beginning. As stated in the company’s uberPOOL policy, several riders can share a ride, but no matter in what order the passengers entered the vehicle, the one whose destination is closest must be dropped off first. Allen lives only 10 miles from the part-time job she was leaving around 10 p.m. Saturday. The ride that should have taken 15 minutes took an hour and a half as she describes how Muse first drove another passenger to their destination before returning to Allen’s neighborhood where the driver allegedly locked the doors and began forceably kissing Allen. She claims he kissed her on the…

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Commentary: Christian Cake Baker Turns the Tables, Sues Colorado for Anti-Religious Bias

Jack Phillips

by Thomas Jipping   Jack Phillips owns Masterpiece Cakeshop in Lakewood, Colorado, and is himself a master baker. He’s in trouble with the state of Colorado for declining to create a custom cake for an event because doing so would violate his religious beliefs. If that sounds familiar, it’s because Phillips has already taken a similar case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled in his favor on June 4. Here’s the background. In 2012, Phillips declined the request by a same-sex couple marrying in Massachusetts that he create a custom cake for their reception in Colorado. The Colorado Civil Rights Commission, in a ruling affirmed by the state courts, concluded that Phillips violated a state law prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in businesses and other places of public accommodation. The case, as the Supreme Court would describe it, presented a conflict between the government’s authority to protect individuals against discrimination and “the right of all persons to exercise fundamental freedoms under the First Amendment.” This conflict is recurring, in different settings, more and more often. To understand this conflict properly requires focusing on the reason that Phillips declined to make this particular cake. He…

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Legal Loophole Protects Violent Iraqi Refugee Who Shot a Colorado Police Officer

Cem Duzel, Karrar Noaman Al Khammasi,

By Natalia Castro   On June 13, 2016, Karrar Noaman Al Khammasi should have been deported. After violating the terms of his probation, this was the day an immigration judge determined Al Khammasi should no longer be in allowed to maintain his refugee status and live in his Colorado home. Instead, Al Khammasi took advantage of a legal loophole that allowed him to stay in the U.S. Now, Al Khammasi is being charged with shooting a Colorado police officer, Cem Duzel, after being involved in a dangerous shootout last week. Al Khammasi’s story sheds light on to deep rooted flaws in our immigration system. The Gazette of Colorado explains, Al Khammasi, a native of Iraq, was granted refugee state in May 2012 and arrived in the country six months later. In 2014, Al Khammasi pleaded guilty to trespassing, soon after, Al Khammasi violated two-year probation and was sentenced to 18 months in prison. In April 2016, Al Khammasi was paroled to the property of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and was ordered for deportation in June 2016. Four months later, immigration authorities argued that his trespassing conviction did not constitute an “aggravated felony” and there for his deportation proceedings must be terminated.…

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