Then the market tumbled

Slated on Backbone Radio, Sept. 21 Listen every Sunday, 5-8pm on 710 KNUS, Denver... 1460 KZNT, Colorado Springs... and streaming live at 710knus.com.

You can't repeal human nature, warned Lincoln. Nor can you cancel the laws of mathematics and the hard truths that Kipling called "the gods of the copybook headings." All forty lines of his poem by that name are worth pondering; it's posted in the center column of our home page. Amid the current financial turmoil, these lines stood out to me: "In the Carboniferous Epoch we were promised abundance for all, By robbing selected Peter to pay for collective Paul," But, though we had plenty of money, there was nothing our money could buy, And the Gods of the Copybook Headings said: "If you don't work you die."

Then the Gods of the Market tumbled, and their smooth-tongued wizards withdrew And the hearts of the meanest were humbled and began to believe it was true That All is not Gold that Glitters, and Two and Two make Four And the Gods of the Copybook Headings limped up to explain it once more.

Of course we're now well into the blaming, the excuses, and the promises to make it all better, most of them worthless. Backbone Radio this Sunday will claim no secrets on how to invest safely or how to legislate against stupidity. But our guests bring a wealth of wisdom about how to keep your backbone when others are losing theirs.

** I'll talk with Congressman Tom Tancredo (R-CO) about the election and beyond. Also with his colleague, Congressman Lamar Smith (R-TX), ranking Republican on House Judiciary.

** Fred Barnes of Fox News and the Weekly Standard will talk about his important article a few weeks ago on the "Colorado Model" for turning red states blue.

** Plus liberal columnist & author David Sirota on his big left-right debate with talk show host Dennis Prager, coming up Monday at 7pm, South HS in Denver.

Be of good cheer, America is resilient! JOHN ANDREWS

Hear the Show: 9/14/08

Read John's Show Preview 5PM Show Open John Andrews, Krista Kafer, Joshua Sharf... plus guest Mike Kopp

5:30PM Guest: Penn Pfiffner

6PM Guest: Penn Pfiffner

6:30PM Guests: Alan Schaeffer

7PM Guest: Bill Moloney

7:30PM Guest: Tom Krannawitter

Fifty days & counting

Slated on Backbone Radio, Sept. 14 Listen every Sunday, 5-8pm on 710 KNUS, Denver... 1460 KZNT, Colorado Springs... and streaming live at 710knus.com.

Constitutional self-government, according to Churchill the worst form known to man except all the others that have been tried, sure gets wearisome at times. I mean, spare me. So now we have Lipstick Gate? We have endless mindless political ads on TV and it's only September? We have Al Franken auditioning to do standup in the US Senate? Take heart, citizen. The end is in sight. Coming out of this weekend, it's only 50 days until the election is settled, wrapped up, put to bed, kaput. Hang on, Sloopy. Sloopy, hang on. We're gettin' there, and you have to admit, this is less of a grind than you thought it would be, now that the polls are tilting to McPalin.

This Sunday on Backbone Radio, John Andrews with Krista Kafer and Joshua Sharf will cover the whole political landscape with you. Join us to keep up with all the issues and ideas that matter.

** So the Dems are suddenly less sure of themselves out there on the campaign trail? We'll analyze the trends with regular contributor Bill Moloney.

** So the Referendum C spending lobby is back for an encore with Amendment 59, ta-ta to tax refunds forever? We'll hear about the campaign to stop it from Penn Pfiffner of the Colorado Union of Taxpayers.

** So charter schools and choice enjoy a strange new respect from Barack Obama of all people? We'll talk honest education with Marshall Fritz of the Alliance for Separation of School and State.

** Plus my interview with Tom Krannawitter of Hillsdale and Claremont about his new "Vindicating Lincoln," perhaps the most important book of the year for thoughtful conservatives.

The most principled, most patriotic, most faith-based, most Colorado-proud spot on your weekend radio dial is at again, 5:00pm Sunday all across the state, now including the Western Slope on 98.5 Grand Junction. Don't miss it.

Yours for a red map on Nov. 4, JOHN ANDREWS

Hear the Show: 09/07/2008

Read John's Show Preview 5PM Show Open John Andrews, Karen Kataline, Krista Kafer

5:30PM Guest: Gov. Bill Owens

6PM Guest: Kate O'Beirne

6:30PM Guests: Andrews, Kataline, Kafer

7PM Guest: Kathleen LeCrone and Debbie Brown

7:30PM Guest: Mike Littwin

Maggie & Ronnie, meet Sarah

Slated on Backbone Radio, Sept. 7 Listen every Sunday, 5-8pm on 710 KNUS, Denver... 1460 KZNT, Colorado Springs... and streaming live at 710knus.com.

Rudy Giuliani's powerful RNC speech on "Suppose you were hiring someone" was a primer for voters on the contrast between Kid Obama and Maverick McCain. But if we imagined the same situation for McCain himself as a readiness test for the presidency, the Republican nominee just aced it. In selecting Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin for his running mate, McCain made the most insightful and impactful personnel pick for America's future since President Bush tapped Gen. Petraeus to turn around the war in Iraq. The self-described "pit bull with lipstick" has put new teeth in Mac's reform campaign and brought star quality rivaling Obama's own. Palin's brilliant acceptance speech topped Rudy's high-energy warmup act and cheerfully bloodied the opposition. Look out, America. She's here.

Sarah Barracuda is the best thing to happen on the right since 1980. She has the backbone of the Iron Lady, Margaret Thatcher, along with the wishbone and funnybone of our own Gipper, Ronald Reagan. Ronnie from on high and Maggie from her honored retirement in Britain must both have been beaming as Palin electrified the delegates on Wednesday night.

So hold off on Barack's coronation. This is going to be a heckuva race after all, and those styrofoam Greek columns could have to stay in storage for good. Come Nov. 5, the ex-community organizer may wish he'd been a mayor instead -- someone with actual responsibilities.

This Sunday on Backbone Radio, we'll talk about both conventions, RNC and the now-overshadowed DNC, with some great guests including Kate O'Beirne of National Review... former Gov. Bill Owens... Mike Littwin of the Rocky Mountain News... and two Colorado GOP delegates just home from St. Paul, Kathleen LeCrone and Debbie Brown.

Author Peter Schweizer will also be along to focus the lessons of his new book, "Makers and Takers," on the conservative-liberal showdown of this fall's campaign. You can get course credit just for memorizing his Palinesque subtitle: "Why Conservatives Work Harder, Feel Happier, Have Closer Families, Take Fewer Drugs, Give More Generously, Value Honesty More, Are Less Materialistic and Envious, Whine Less...And Even Hug Their Children More than Liberals."

Is it just me, or has politics gotten to be more fun since Obie visited Berlin and McCain phoned Alaska? Join us for one of our best-ever shows and find out.

Yours for caribou on the menu, JOHN ANDREWS