Since Backbone Radio is programmed well in advance, our Sept.4 show didn't initially reckon with the New Orleans disaster after Katrina, or the death of Chief Justice William Rehnquist yesterday. But today's show will make time for those big stories, along with the other topics outlined in my radio email earlier. Here's what the email said: Just as con is the opposite of pro, said Will Rogers, it often seems Congress is the opposite of progress. Is it possible to have both? We'll find out next week, when Speaker Hastert and Majority Leader Frist call the unruly U.S. House and Senate back into session after the summer recess.
Confirmation hearings will begin on President Bush's nomination of John Roberts to the Supreme Court. A vote is promised on permanent elimination of the death tax. Debates on the war against Islamofascism will intensify, as 9/11 is observed and members pass along what they heard at home during recess.
We'll cover all these subjects, and more, on "Backbone Radio with John Andrews," Sunday evening from 5-8pm. Please listen on the air throughout Colorado at 710 KNUS, or online from anywhere at 710knus.com. Get in the discussion by calling 303-696-1971, or by email at backboneradio@aol.com.
Here's the lineup for our Sept. 4 show...
* Law professor John Eastman -- you know him from the Hugh Hewitt Show -- will update us on the Roberts confirmation fight, the significance of Rehnquist's death, and the broader battle for constitutional jurisprudence.
* Dick Patten of the American Family Business Institute will be my guest to explain what's at stake in killing the death tax.
* Claremont Institute President Brian Kennedy, a regular on the program, will join us to discuss the war as it enters its fifth year. Should America be doing more? Brian never pulls his punches.
* Andy McKean, organizer of the nationwide Liberty Day movement, returns to our studio with a report on the upcoming, congressionally mandated observance in all public schools to remember the adoption of the US Constitution -- Friday, Sept. 16.
* David Crater checks in from Colorado Springs to preview the 2nd Annual Conference on Colorado Conservatism, hosted by the Wilberforce Center next Saturday the 10th.
Liven up your Sunday evening with some backbone -- the most principled, most patriotic, most faith-based, most Colorado-proud conversation on the weekend radio dial.
We're the talk show that believes in America without apologies, that puts principle into politics, that's quietly recruiting citizen soldiers to help restore this Republic. Want to be one?
BACKBONE RADIO INVITES YOU TO LISTEN AND PARTICIPATE.
When: September 4 and every Sunday, 5-8pm MDT / 7 Eastern / 4 Pacific Where: 710-KNUS in Denver Listen on the web: http://www.710knus.com/ Studio line: 303-696-1971 Direct email: backboneradio@aol.com
Yours for self-government, JOHN ANDREWS --------------------------------------------------------------------------- ONLY POLITICIANS could believe that $3 gasoline is a good time to raise taxes. "But it's not a tax increase," the advocates of Referendum C & D insist frantically. I did three debates this week, and each time my opponent pled with the audience to believe that. "According to TABOR, it is," allowed former Rep. Brad Young. But not according to the money in your pocket? "You merely lose a decrease," spun Sen. Norma Anderson. Whatever. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- COUNT US OUT was the message from 60 of 64 Republican county chairmen across Colorado when Backbone America invited them to join the few prominent GOP figures endorsing Referendum C & D. Answering our survey, only four county chairs said voters should pass the tax hike. The rest were negative (17) or neutral (43). Why board a sinking ship? --------------------------------------------------------------------------- NOW BLOGGING FOR BACKBONE are Owens alumnus Sean Duffy, former CU Republican activist Brad Jones, Claremont Lincoln Fellow Krista Kafer, theology wonk Jeremy Schupbach, and several other suspicious characters. Plus of course Dr. Matt, Skinny Beth, Cate Corry's mom, and me. Check in with us daily right here at BackboneAmerica.net. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- SHOOT THE MESSENGER is the old tactic of anyone with a weak argument. That's why C & D advocates keep trying to change the subject to irrelevant trivia... such as who donates to the Independence Institute... or my sarcastic comments about Putin and Saddam. Advocates sense the public isn't buying their scare talk about Colorado evaporating if huge spending increases are denied. And they're terrified of the bad smell from mismanagement at PERA, the failing state pension plan. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- OKLAHOMA LEGISLATORS and policy reformers think the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights is an idea whose time has come. That was, in fact, the title of my luncheon speech for them on August 31. Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs, a think tank I helped start years ago, was the host. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------