Sometimes big government becomes so big that even good conservatives find themselves unwittingly advocating expansions of government in response to its failures.  That’s precisely what U. S. Rep. Pete Olsen (R-Texas) is doing with the new “solution” he has offered to the egregious humanitarian and economic scandal the ethanol mandate, officially known at the Renewable Fuels Standard or RFS, has
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“We’re from the Earth Guardians group, and we’re working on fracking and how it’s going to affect our future and our health. So we wrote this song for all the gas companies that are putting their profits ahead of our future.” With that prelude, 12-year-old Xiuhtezcatl Martinez and his 9-year-old brother Itzcuauhtli launched into an anti-fracking rap song for Evergreen
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It uses tons of fossil fuels every day, emits a greenhouse gas that’s like CO2 on steroids, can’t do the job it’s made for, costs taxpayers exorbitant fees, and makes the federal government look mentally ill for giving it outrageous subsidies. It also chops up birds, bats and scenery with roads and monstrous 400-foot-tall machines. “It” is wind power, of
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It used to be just motorized recreation that Gang Green wanted banned from public lands. But now, as was predictable, the champions of recreational correctness are taking aim at lighter-on-the-land activities like mountain-biking, rock-climbing, skiing (downhill and cross country) and even endurance running events. I’m sure many of these “low-impact” recreationists shrugged, or maybe even cheered, when greens and government bureaucrats began the push to oust
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A new language was introduced in Washington when President Obama began his first term in office. For a time, it flummoxed his observers, including many Republicans, who were caught off-balance by the combination of the President’s soaring rhetoric and his Chicago-style politics. The language is newspeak. Introduced by George Orwell, it is characterized by using familiar words and phrases in
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It’s time to treat renewable energy providers just like everyone else. In many ways, the playing field is dramatically tilted in their favor, with myriad tax credits, grant programs, loan guarantees and purchase mandates.  However, federal policy still excludes renewables, coal-fired electricity production and nuclear from an important business structure from which other forms of energy have benefited. Congress should expand
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The Rural Rate Hike Express, otherwise known as SB-252, just sped through the Statehouse and is bearing down on Coloradans at breakneck speed. Our best hope now is that Gov. John Hickenlooper, recognizing the harm this bill will do the state’s fragile economy, will pull out his veto pen just in the nick of time. Hickenlooper came to office as
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Now that they have regained total control of the State Capitol, Democrat leaders in the legislature just cannot resist kicking rural Colorado every time they get a chance. It was necessary, they told us, for rural Coloradans – and gun owners everywhere – to compromise our lifestyle and our freedom as part of their irrational quest to make us safer
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WASHINGTON — Billions of dollars in federal spending on wind-energy initiatives likely have been excessive and unnecessary, according to the government’s own watchdog. The federal departments of Energy and Agriculture handed out taxpayer dollars to start-up wind companies without checking whether the funding was needed, the report from the General Accountability Office states. “(W)hether initiatives’ incremental support was always needed
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Americans concerned about gasoline prices were encouraged by the Pew Research Center’s new poll, whose headline blared, “Keystone XL Pipeline draws broad support.” A score box showed 63% supporting and only 23% opposing the pipeline that would transport oil from Canada’s vast Alberta oil sands deposits through the Plains states to Texas refineries. “Every one-cent increase at the pump steals
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