memorial day

I Am the Liberal-Progressives Worst Nightmare. I am an American.

I believe the money I make belongs to me and my family, not some Liberal governmental functionary be it Democratic or Republican!

I'm in touch with my feelings and I like it that way!

I think owning a gun doesn't make you a killer; it makes you a smart American.

I think being a minority does not make you noble or victimized, and does not entitle you to anything.

I believe that if you are selling me a Big Mac, do it in English.

I believe everyone has a right to pray to his or her God when and where they want to.

My heroes are John Wayne, Babe Ruth, Roy Rogers, and whoever canceled Jerry Springer.

I don't hate the rich. I don't pity the poor.

I know wrestling is fake and I don't waste my time watching or arguing about it.

I've never owned a slave, or was a slave, I haven't burned any witches or been persecuted by the Turks and neither have you! So, shut up already.

I believe if you don't like the way things are here, go back to where you came from and change your own country! This is AMERICA.

If you were born here and don't like it you are free to move to any Socialist country that will have you.

I want to know which church is it exactly where the Reverend Jesse Jackson preaches, where he gets his money, and why he is always part of the problem and not the solution. Can I get an AMEN on that one?

I think the cops have every right to shoot your sorry rear if you're running from them.

I also think they have the right to pull you over if you're breaking the law, regardless of what color you are.

And, no, I don't mind having my face shown on my driver’s license. I think it's good..... And I'm proud that "God" is written on my money.

I think if you are too stupid to know how a ballot works, I don't want you deciding who should be running the most powerful nation in the world for the next four years.

I dislike those people standing in the intersections trying to sell me stuff or trying to guilt me into making "donations" to their cause.

I believe that it doesn't take a village to raise a child, it takes two parents.

I believe "illegal" is illegal no matter what the lawyers think.

I believe the American flag should be the only one allowed in AMERICA!

If this makes me a BAD American, then yes, I'm a BAD American.

We want our country back!


We NEED GOD BACK IN OUR COUNTRY!

What The Heck?

LONGMONT — Paul Tiger wants Longmont residents to choose whether to pay sales tax on their groceries.

The local Libertarian plans to land a measure on November’s ballot asking voters to repeal the city’s sales tax on food at grocery stores.

The idea has “been knocking around for a long time,” Tiger said, and it boils down to one question:

“Why would we tax people to eat?” he asked. “Almost everyone I’ve talked to agrees it’s the most regressive tax there is.”

Colorado exempts groceries from the state’s 2.9 percent sales tax, but cities can apply local sales taxes.

Longmont shoppers pay only city sales tax on food items at grocery stores: 3.275 percent, or $3.28 on $100 worth of groceries.

City finance director Jim Golden estimated the city collected about $5.8 million last year from grocery sales.

Because some grocery items, such as paper goods and household products, would still be taxable under Tiger’s proposal, Golden estimated about $4 million would drop off the city’s tax rolls if voters passed such a measure.

More than half of that $4 million would come out of the general fund, the city’s main operating budget, Golden said. That would be about 7 percent of the $57 million city officials expect in general fund revenue next year.
“
It’s a lot of money, so it wouldn’t be an easy thing to swallow,” Golden said.

City leaders already faced a tight 2008 budget and discussed cutting jobs, closing the ice rink and ending city programs. Now city officials expect next year’s general fund to be $900,000 to $1.6 million short, and they are asking for residents’ help to prepare the 2009 budget.

“So if (foods sales tax) got voted off, it would have a significant impact,” Golden said.
But Tiger said giving voters an opportunity to repeal a tax is the antithesis to what government does: ask voters to approve taxes — sometimes taxes that do not end — and spend, spend, spend.

If voters repeal the city sales tax on food, it would force local leaders to “think about their spending and be a bit more frugal,” he said.

“People are taxed, taxed and overtaxed,” Tiger said. “What would it be like if we could get a tax repeal passed? (City officials) would really be more thoughtful about sunsets and spending.”

Tiger was inspired by his friend, fellow Libertarian Frank Atwood, who led efforts to repeal Littleton’s food sales tax in 2003. Voters ended the city’s 1 percent sales tax on groceries.

While many cities in Colorado tax groceries, some are stopping the practice.

Last week, the Lakewood City Council voted to end the city’s 2 percent grocery sales tax.

Lakewood will stop collecting the grocery food tax Jan. 1. Denver, Colorado Springs and Aurora also do not collect city sales tax on groceries.

Longmont City Clerk Valeria Skitt said Tiger has until late August to collect signatures from at least 3,485 registered voters — 10 percent of the city’s registered voters.

Tiger plans to collect signatures at upcoming events like Rhythm on the River, at Twin Peaks Mall and in front of grocery stores. He is confident he will be able to gather the signatures before the August deadline.

The city also collects sales tax on food sold at restaurants. Tiger is not proposing to end that tax.

FEES

State tacks on the fees

This session, 40 bills boosting charges $40 million by next year won support on both sides of the aisle.

If you're a massage therapist, nursing-facility operator, car insurer or plaintiff in a civil court case, life will get a little more expensive following this legislative session.

While lawmakers can't raise taxes without a vote of the people, they can — and did to the tune of nearly $40 million by 2009 — raise dozens of fines and fees to cover costs.

Many of the most expensive increases were bipartisan affairs, though Republicans needle Democrats over ever-rising charges.

Rep. Cory Gardner, R-Yuma, voted against many of the increases and pointed out that an economic downturn is a tough time to raise rates.

"Even if there are legitimate fees that were put in place, by the time you add up to $40 million, . . . that starts to hurt Colorado pretty significantly," Gardner said.

"That's a lot of money that Coloradans are paying without having any say about it."

The state's 6,000 massage therapists — soon to include Colorado School of Healing Arts student Julie Stevenson — can expect to pay the state about $120 every two years for the right to practice their trade.

Stevenson welcomes the new registration and fee program, which will lend her industry credibility.

"It's the kind of credibility massage therapists deserve," said Stevenson, lying Wednesday in a darkened room while a class partner massaged her neck.

"It's really, really worth it. Having that is like insurance for me."

State rules say lawmakers should use fee money to provide services to those who pay them, and that's what the legislature did this session, said Assistant Majority Leader Terrance Carroll, D-Denver.

"You can't have government on the cheap. Many people are asking for those services," Carroll said. "It's typical for the Republicans to be screaming and yelling over fee increases when the majority pass with bipartisan support."

Lawmakers approved 40 bills that would boost fines and fees anywhere from an additional 75 cents for a birth certificate to a new $67,000 quality-assurance fee imposed on the state's 155 nursing-home facilities. Many of those bills now await the signature of Gov. Bill Ritter.

Fees on nursing facilities, home-care providers, civil court filers and overweight vehicles will bring in a combined $19.7 million in 2008-09 and $25.5 million in 2009-10.

All passed by wide margins in the House, although some faced closer calls among senators, as Senate Republicans accused Democrats of going on a "fee spree" during the session.

Lawmakers said "no" to a number of fees as well, most noticeably higher car-registration rates that could have cost drivers up to $97 a vehicle. Charges for funeral-home licenses and increased marriage-license fees also fell by the wayside.

And while higher costs could cause heartburn for some, Stevenson doesn't mind them so much from her spot on the massage table at her Lakewood school.

She's glad Colorado is joining the 32 other states that register members of her industry.
"I think it will be a good thing," she said.


Lawmakers added and boosted dozens of fees during the 2008 legislative session. Life will get more costly for:

Sports agents: New $1,000 registration feeCarnival operators: $475 permit increase; new $110 fee for inflatable rides
Accountants: $6.33 license increase
Drunken drivers: $70 increase for license reinstatement
Compost producers: New $60 fee
Private colleges: $5,250 application fee to offer degrees
Car insurers: New $1 fee for each car insured
Civil court: $5 to $51 jump in filing fees

WHAT THE ?

City Council to Consider Eliminating Grocery Food Sales Tax

April 25, 2008 - The Lakewood City Council will consider an ordinance that would eliminate the grocery food sales tax beginning in 2009. It would also rescind temporary waivers of one percent of the sales tax within certain areas of the City that include the Creekside shopping center and Colorado Mills. First reading of the ordinance will come at the City Council meeting on Monday, April 28. A Public Hearing and a final vote on the ordinance will take place at the City Council meeting on Monday, May 12.

The ordinance is a result of recommendations from an ad hoc committee appointed by Mayor Bob Murphy as one of his first initiatives upon taking office. The work of the committee involved gathering and reviewing information about the grocery foods tax, including the impact that removing it might have on citizens, the City budget and services the City provides to Lakewood residents. The committee voted unanimously in favor of removing the tax while simultaneously eliminating the temporary tax waivers at Colorado Mills and Creekside.

It is estimated that the average person spends around $28 in grocery food taxes every year. As a result of eliminating the tax, the City will face a loss of $4 million a year in sales tax revenues. By rescinding the temporary sales tax waiver to Creekside and Colorado Mills, the city will receive $3 million dollars a year. The City will address the $1 million difference in the preparation of the 2009 budget and hopes to do so without eliminating services or employees.
“This is an elegant compromise on a difficult issue,” said Mayor Bob Murphy. Losing $4 million could have presented a major threat to the City budget and meant drastic cutbacks in services. “This is a way to continue to provide a high level of services,” Murphy said, “and there is an element of fairness too. Grocery food taxes impact those who can least afford it, as could the resulting service cuts. This makes it fair to all members of the community.”

The sales tax waivers on Creekside and Colorado Mills were part of a ballot measure in 2005 in which Lakewood voters increased the City sales tax by one percent. It provided one year temporary waivers of the sales tax increase that could be renewed on a yearly basis.
Lakewood is one of more than 80 Colorado cities which currently tax foods for domestic home consumption. Passage of the ordinance would place it with Denver, Aurora, Englewood, Littleton and Commerce City, which do not tax grocery foods.

Staying Positive

Are you considering relocating to Steamboat Springs, or perhaps purchasing a business or vacation home there? Or are you a business owner looking for resources to assist you in making your move? Hopefully this guide will point you in the right direction with facts, resources and contacts to make your venture a success. www.steamboat-chamber.com/info/edc.asp

Steamboat Springs got its name in the mid 1800s, when fur trappers ventured over the Continental Divide and heard the chugging sound of a mineral spring that reminded them of a steamboat. James Crawford and his hearty pioneer family overcame many hardships to settle Steamboat in 1875.

Steamboat's economy has evolved from gold mining to ranching, to coal mining, to recreational tourism. In 1960, the first skiers descended the slopes of Storm Mountain; today Mount Werner is a world-class ski area. During the past century, winter and summer tourism have evolved as mainstays of Steamboat's economy. But with the advent of high-speed technology, a new industry of location neutral businesses and employees is now populating our community, often as a lifestyle choice.

Steamboat has doubled its population in the past two decades, but small-town values still reign. Our rich heritage in ranching and skiing differentiates us from many of our resort competitors, something that we take pride in.

We strongly value our children, who thrive in this safe environment. We passed a half-cent sales tax to ensure small class sizes and enhanced technology in our public school system.

We value our health, as evidenced by a successful capital campaign that funded our state-of-the-art regional medical center. Because we value our land, we purchase development rights to preserve open space. We value housing opportunities for all who choose to live in the Yampa Valley, regardless of their socio-economic status; with the Yampa Valley Housing Authority, we are striving to provide options for all.

The volunteer spirit is strong here, providing us with creative solutions to social issues, a sophisticated arts and cultural community, and a Chamber Resort Association that represents more than 90 percent of the businesses in the valley.

This is an exciting time for Steamboat as our physical environment embarks on an incredible renaissance. The new owner of the ski area, Intrawest, is investing in a re-grade of the base area, installation of a new high-speed lift from the base and other capital improvements.
Steamboat's 'Downtown Renaissance' includes six new mixed-use developments, including both residential ownership and main street retail opportunities. Our community also passed bond measures for a major library expansion, a new community center and a new elementary school, all of which are under construction in 2007.

Steamboat is truly a remarkable place. Your success is important to us!