Backbone Colorado USA

Let's be the Backbone State

What’s a state? For starters, an expanse of territory, a resident population, and a sovereign government. But there’s a lot more, when you think about it as I’ve tried to do in my new book, Backbone Colorado USA. A way of life, a set of values, shared history and traditions, all play a part. As Colorado marks 140 years of statehood this year, it has actually come to reflect a special state of mind.

Beware, politics isn't everything

Who do you like for President? Many Americans this year seem inclined to answer that question with another: What’s today? The polls are volatile. We’ve already seen surprises, and we’ll see more. This was going to be a column endorsing Romney. The straight-arrow entrepreneur is my guy. If Mitt quits, I’m for gruff Fred Thompson. I was also going to say that McCain and Huckabee, big-government egotists, are my least favorite—though preferable to any Democrat.

What if it's not possible to be both a good Muslim and a good American?

Can a good Muslim be a good American? Brian, a constitutional scholar, put the question to Michael, a national security expert, as we passed the Washington office of Congressman Keith Ellison (D-MN), the first Muslim to serve there. Ellison’s decision to be sworn in on the Quran still echoes controversially.

Ready for Some Watershed Thinking?

baca book cover final 111915 smaller By John Andrews As conservatives, the only question is not how should we vote. How should we live? How should we treat people? How should we view America and its future? I've long believed that many of the answers are hiding in plain sight, up near the Continental Divide in my imaginary hometown of the heart, Backbone, Colorado. It was the dateline for over a hundred of my Denver Post columns in the past decade, and they're now collected in a new book, Backbone Colorado USA: Dispatches from the Divide.

You can nibble these brief, practical essays like popcorn, but get ready for a healthy jolt -- this is power food for hungry citizens. Or to change the metaphor: it's watershed thinking to help readers draw the line between the postmodern laziness that will sink America and the aroused civic courage we must summon up to save our country. Order your copy today, plus a couple of extras to give as gifts. And please let me know what you think of it.