BackboneAmerica

As Obama pledges to use taxpayer money to hand out cash and prizes in the name of jump-starting the economy, Colorado Democrats (more…)

Common sense tells you the world is flat. Science says otherwise, of course, but it was only after two centuries (more…)

This Thanksgiving season, no one has more reason to be grateful than us. Though the media, politicians, Hollywood and a growing number (more…)

Writing from a special place in Hell where I rent a small office, I’d like to congratulate state Rep. Mike Merrifield on his reappointment (more…)

Nearly five decades after John F. Kennedy inspired Americans to ask what they could do for their country, the new national sentiment (more…)

Tuesday at 6am I entered the precinct to open the polls. Sealed off from radio, TV, Internet, and even my cell phone, I knew nothing (more…)

I’m voting for Bob Schaffer. Truth be told if I had to choose between Schaffer for Senate and McCain for President, I’d choose Bob. (more…)

A wise man once said, if it sounds too good to be true, it is. That wisdm keeps many a smart person away from cheap Rolexes, (more…)

“Conservative gathering, liberal dose of pessimism,” was the headline over a Mar. 28 story on the previous night’s panel hosted by (more…)

Some conservative Republicans are still grumpy about the presumptive Republican nominee, Sen. John McCain. “I don’t want to have to choose between the lesser of two evils” (more…)

(Title: Proverbs 6:6)

How do ants build vast underground cities without a chief engineer? How do bees build a hive and make honey without a leader? How do swarms of migrating birds or schools of fish seem to move as one organism? An article in the current National Geographic, “Swarm Behavior”, offers insights into the question of how the simple actions of individuals add up to the complex behavior of a group — but this 2007 author reveals an economic blind spot about what Adam Smith understood as early as 1776. (more…)

By Krista Kafer

“Dead bodies don’t look like they do in the movies,” Marjorie Lindholm told the Rocky Mountain News. A survivor of the Columbine tragedy, Marjorie and her mother Peggy have published a book, A Columbine Survivor’s Story, about the grisly experience of that day.

A sophomore with dreams of one day becoming a doctor, Marjorie was taking a science class when shots erupted. By the time SWAT lead them out, the killers had executed their plan, a year in the making, leaving 13 students dead, many more wounded, and a community crushed by shock and grief. (more…)

By Krista Kafer

Ever wonder what you’re paying for with your federal tax dollars? Look at just one department (the one Republicans once promised to eliminate). This year, Colorado received $406 million in federal funds for k-12 education programs. The state received another $199 million for higher education, while students received $1.2 billion in new taxpayer subsidized loans. That’s a lot of money.

Ever wonder if the programs work? Anecdotal evidence will tell you that there are students who benefit from federal programs. Aggregate achievement statistics, however, may make you wonder. It’s pretty obvious that a lot of money doesn’t necessarily mean a lot of progress. (more…)

By Krista Kafer krista555@msn.com

Well, well. So the national Phi Kappa Tau fraternity is suspending its University of Colorado chapter at least until August. Its 35 members will have to find a new place to live. Apparently the house was “not representative of the values and principles of Phi Kappa Tau Fraternity nor those of the Greek community in Boulder” according to the national office. That’s a delicate way of saying they partied too much. (more…)

By Krista Kafer

Monday’s Rocky Mountain News featured two Associated Press stories that were at first glance miles apart and at second eerily close. The first was about a federal court case in Pennsylvania. A small Pennsylvania school district is defending its policy to give 9th grade students a short statement on Intelligent Design before presenting information about evolution. (more…)