BackboneAmerica

(John Andrews in the Denver Post, Oct. 1) Someone needs to say it: PeaceJam was a scam. The goal, a world less riven by aggression and oppression, is laudable. But that outcome is only set back by such utopian lovefests as last month’s big Denver conference.

The 3000 young people who gathered from 31 countries, at a time when Islamofascists seek a new global caliphate enforced with nukes, deserved better than Buddhist platitudes about “inner disarmament” (the Dalai Lama), daydreams about the US answering 9/11 by building schools in Afghanistan (Shirin Ebadi of Iran), and leftist lies about Guantanamo (Mairead Maguire of Northern Ireland).

The PeaceJam organization, founded ten years ago by Ivan Suvanjieff of Arvada, has shown imagination in brokering idealistic kids together with self-important Nobel Peace laureates for its annual rallies. And it’s hit promotional paydirt with massive, gooey media coverage.

PeaceJam’s premise is fatally flawed, however. Its hoary ‘60s mantra of (start italic) Think positive, be nice, hug each other (end italic) is powerless against aggressive evil. By seducing impressionable teens away from the tough realism needed to defend humane values in a dangerous world, it actually imperils peace and invites war. (more…)

By Dave Petteys (dpetteys@comcast.net)

At least the shooter in Wednesday’s Bailey high school tragedy was a homeless white man; think of all the victim language from liberals had it been otherwise.

But as for what to do now: Government officials will bump the gun control laws pertaining to schools up to probably 75 different regulations (from 70) and congratulate themselves for “finally doing something about the menace of firearms” until something like this happens again.

No one bothers to ask why the first 70 laws didn’t protect the innocent teen who was killed. Had there been an armed teacher on the scene, proficient in the use of firearms, the story might have been different. (more…)

By Brian Ochsner (baochsner@aol.com)

Let me get this straight. Bill Winter isn’t afraid of a local critic - Dave Kopel of the Independence Institute - but he’s worried that Osama bin Laden will make the 6th Congressional District more of a target because Tom Tancredo speaks his mind about Islamofascism. Makes perfect sense to me… if you’re using liberal logic, that is. (more…)

By Dave Petteys (dpetteys@comcast.net)

Apropos the intelligence estimate leaked in part to the New York Times last weekend, and being spun by the left to blame America for the attacks upon us in Iraq and beyond:

The assertion that “fighting terrorism is what causes it” implies that ceasing to fight would cause terrorism to disappear.

This is like saying pulling weeds in your garden is what causes them to grow. Or, it is like saying big city crime is caused by law enforcement efforts.

Therefore the best way to handle crime is to dismantle police forces. Would any sane New Yorker believe such a thing?

Common sense l tells us the absurdity of such assertions. But more ominously, it impugns sinister motives for our society by those who advocate such dangerous steps.

By Tom McDowell (trmcdowell@yahoo.com)

I come to the subject of judicial term limits (Amendment 40 on Colorado’s November ballot) out of a sense of moral outrage, and as Morton Blackwell has said: “Moral outrage is the most powerful motivating force in politics.”

I often write for a blog under the pen name “Not Legal Roadkill Yet.” My blog has two basic premises. One is not germane here, but the other is that lawyers protect judges, judges protect lawyers, but no one protects the public: The Colorado Supreme Court is both the author and enforcer of ethics rules for judges and lawyers. Its ethics rules are designed to appear effective on paper but its court rules often make it impossible for a citizen to make a complaint without going through his attorney and the trial judge. Trial judges are up for retention every six years. Human nature suggests that judges who do not forward complaints will naturally be rated higher by attorneys than judges who do. (more…)

Update, Sunday afternoon: On today’s show, Brad Jones and I will also discuss Col. Dave Grossman’s article, “Preventing School Violence.” See http://www.killology.com/school_notes_preventing_violence.htm. Grossman has been my guest in the past, and we’ll try to get him next week for a full analysis of the Bailey school tragedy and the lessons Colorado still hasn’t learned, seven full years after Columbine.
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Join us on radio every Sunday, 5-8pm on 710 KNUS, Denver
and now also on 1460 KZNT, Colorado Springs
To listen online from anywhere, click 710knus.com
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TERM LIMITS ON TV TONIGHT… Amendment 40, term limits for judges, is ahead in the polls and gaining endorsements from district attorneys, who ought to know. Friday evening, tonight, see me debate No. 40 with Bar Association spokesman Bob Miller. We face off at 730pm on “Colorado State of Mind,” Channel 6, and again at 9pm on “Colorado Decides,” Channel 12. Check listings for repeat showings if you miss us on 9/29.
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SHOW PREVIEW… Once a reliable red state in politics, Colorado voted a lot more purple in 2004. Is a red comeback in the making on Nov. 7 — or will Republicans be left with the election blues by hard-charging Democrats? Current polls favor the Dems, but much could still change with 40 days until the votes are counted.

Our topic will be all politics, all evening, this Sunday on “Backbone Radio with John Andrews.” The discussion will be hot, and we invite your participation in turning up the heat — as well as turning on the light. Too little truth and too much myth is part of the reason for blue political momentum right now. Our show aims to change that. (more…)

Join us on radio every Sunday, 5-8pm on 710 KNUS, Denver
and now also on 1460 KZNT, Colorado Springs
To listen online from anywhere, click 710knus.com
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Lots was covered on our 9/24 show, including today’s book signing party with Joseph C. Phillips (details at bottom), the momentum for term limits on judges (grumpy governors not withstanding), Claremont’s conservative summit in Washington where I spoke, and the chances for a big TABOR win in Maine where I’ve just been.

And if you thought there was no such thing as a black conservative in Hollywood, Denver’s own Joseph C. Phillips, formerly of “The Cosby Show” and now playing on Fox TV’s “Vanished,” has news for you. He’s exactly that, as witnessed in his powerful new book, “He Talk Like a White Boy.”

Phillips is eloquent, touching, funny, and fearless as he talks about why he supports Bush, loves cowboys, rejects victimology, and is raising his three sons to identify as Americans, period. I’m delighted he’ll be with me for an hour in studio, this Sunday on “Backbone Radio with John Andrews.” I urge you to tune in. Other guests and topics include: (more…)

(John Andrews in the Denver Post, Sept. 17) “Why, John Andrews! You don’t like government.” The scolding words came from Gov. Roy Romer. It was 1990, and I was the Republican nominee debating the Democratic incumbent. To emphasize my freedom agenda, I had begun urging a vote for “Andrews and the Amendments,” namely TABOR and term limits.

The liberal Romer pounced on this as proof of his conservative challenger’s unfitness, and sure enough, he won big on election day. But term limits won even bigger, and the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights just missed winning, coming back for a victory in 1992. Both are still with us and popular. So if liking those reforms equates to not liking government, this columnist is not alone in the sentiment.

Let’s be clear. I accept and respect government. I recognize the need for a political order to protect and restrain all of us as unruly human beings, deficient in self-discipline. But precisely because of my skepticism about fallen humanity, I have little liking for government as such, little trust in its fearsome monopoly of power. (more…)

Join us on radio every Sunday, 5-8pm on 710 KNUS, Denver
and now also on 1460 KZNT, Colorado Springs
To listen online from anywhere, click 710knus.com
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Sunday is Constitution Day, the 219th anniversary of the signing of America’s basic charter of self-government. Washington DC itself, you may remember, only exists as our capital city because of the Constitution. We at the Claremont Institute will be there for a Monday seminar and dinner in observance of the oft-overlooked day.

My seminar talk on the state of conservatism in the states will set the theme for our September 17 edition of “Backbone Radio with John Andrews.” We’ll broadcast live from the Heritage Foundation studios near the US Capitol. Aaron Johnson of Congresswoman Marilyn Musgrave’s staff will be my mike partner. I hope you’ll be listening. (more…)

By Dave Petteys (dpetteys@comcast.net)

Listening to a talk show yesterday, I heard yet again a gentlemen assert that the way to end Jihadism was to “treat the underlying structural cause”, which he believed to be poverty. His model was the uneducated unemployed young Muslim in a Palestinian camp with nothing better to do than to strap on an explosive belt.

Thus, all that’s necessary is to spread around aid, and give these young men a “place in society” and Jihadism goes away. In essence, we can and must buy them off! But this is a dangerous misperception that doesn’t wash. Consider the following: (more…)

By Krista Kafer (krista555@msn.com)

Recently on Backbone Radio (Sundays 5-8, 710 KNUS) we spoke with Andy McKean, founder of Liberty Day, an organization that promotes and celebrates the Constitution and Declaration of Independence. He reminded us of a law enacted in 2004 to require all educational institutions receiving federal funds to teach about the Constitution every 17th of September (the day the Constitution was signed in 1787).

Ironically, Congress has no authority over education under the Constitution and was outside of its mandate when it enacted this law; nevertheless, the nation’s K-12 and college students need every opportunity they can get to learn more about the Constitution — of which most are woefully ignorant. (Contact the Liberty Day.org website for information on its pocket constitutions and other school resources.)

Even if they didn’t read it in school, everyone should take time to read the Constitution this month. Voters, in particular, should grab a copy now that election season is under way. Politicians and special interests have a nasty habit of misusing and distorting the founding words to sell themselves and their questionable ideas to the public. (more…)

Update 9/9: The show will lead off at 515pm with Randy Graf, Arizona congressional candidate and immigration reformer, commenting on the incredible meddling by Colorado’s Republican Party in his 9/12 primary. Why would the GOP up here send $5000 to Graf’s opponent, along with DC bigwigs, who have sent far more? For info and to donate, go to VoteGraf.com.

Join us on radio every Sunday, 5-8pm on 710 KNUS, Denver
and now also on 1460 KZNT, Colorado Springs
To listen online from anywhere, click 710knus.com
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It was five years ago Monday that the conflict some are calling World War III went from cold to hot, with Islamist attacks on America’s leading cities. How are we doing? Who actually is our enemy, and what are the stakes? How can we win?

I will explore those questions this Sunday on “Backbone Radio with John Andrews,” the most principled, most patriotic, most faith-based, most Colorado-proud spot on your weekend radio dial. (more…)

(John Andrews in the Denver Post, Sept. 3) Next week marks the fifth anniversary of September 11, 2001, when our Islamic fascist enemy attacked America. Mohammad Atta and 18 of his Muslim brothers, aided by countless unnamed conspirators, commandeered jetliners to smash the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Another strike on the White House or the Capitol was narrowly averted.

The cold war for global domination by radical Islam, sustained since the Iranian hostage crisis in 1979, turned to hot war on that Tuesday morning. But victory is now in doubt, less because of invincible enemies abroad than because of war weariness at home. People wonder if John Kerry was right when he argued this is not a geopolitical struggle for survival, but merely a law enforcement concern. How comforting to think so.

Except such wishful thinking could get us all killed. Our deeply ingrained religious tolerance must not blind us to the reality that one great world religion, Islam, today harbors powerful elements who have a violence problem. To us who are its targets, those fanatics’ belief that killing delights their God is quite literally intolerable – especially as their access to nuclear weapons for dealing death to millions is now just a matter of time. (more…)

Update, Sunday night: Our critique of the Liebeskind architectural infestation of Denver, with Susan Barnes-Gelt, had to be postponed to a future show. In its place we welcomed State Rep. Matt Knoedler, running hard for a Dem-held Senate seat in Lakewood. That segment ended with every candidate’s dream, a supporter (Ellie, whom we ascertained was not a plant) calling in live to learn how she could send a check. Should you wish to do the same, or just read up on this fine young conservative, go to www.mattknoedler.com.

Join us on radio every Sunday, 5-8pm on 710 KNUS, Denver
and now also on 1460 KZNT, Colorado Springs
To listen online from anywhere, click 710knus.com
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When you think about it, Labor Day’s not quite right. One last long weekend to say goodbye to summer is fine. But the day itself has an anti-capitalist edge that we should also say goodbye to, for good. The amazing opportunity and prosperity machine that is 21st century America has no place for the class antagonism of bygone union struggles.

Mark Mix, president of the National Right to Work Committee, is my guest this Sunday for a discussion of how to set Labor Day right. Certainly we should honor those among us who do the tough jobs and work the long days. But let’s also be real about the way organized labor often disserves the best interest of working Americans. When markets, individual freedom, and Econ 101 are violated, everyone suffers. (more…)

The “Head On” debate between former state Sen. John Andrews (R) and former Denver councilwoman Susan Barnes-Gelt (D), seen daily on Colorado Public Television since 1997, began its September series this week. Andrews dismissed the chimera of UN mediation in Lebanon, recommending: “Let the fighting resume.” Other topics this month include the 7th congressional district race, Islamist threats against British air flights, a proposed minimum wage hike, and Beauprez vs. Ritter for Governor.

1. LEBANON CEASEFIRE: WHAT NEXT?

Susan: Both Israel and Lebanon are backing away from the 10-day UN brokered cease fire. Escalating rhetoric resulted from the deaths of three Lebanese soldiers and an Israeli killed by a land mine in south Lebanon. The international community is polarized and prospects for peace are dim.

John: The Lebanon war was started by Hezbollah, a spearhead for Iran in the larger design to destroy both Israel and the United States, after subjugating the Arabs and neutralizing Europe as intermediate steps. The UN is a fraud, and Israel’s cooperation with them is folly. Let the fighting resume. (more…)