by Mark Smiley | Nov 19, 2021 | Feature Story Bottom Left
Karl Honegger
by Karl Honegger
I recently paid $120 to fill up my SUV, bringing back memories of 2012 when I was a college student working two jobs to support my wife and newborn. It was difficult to balance the cost of rent, diapers, food, and gas. It felt like I’d been punched in the gut every time I left the gas station. Because I have a nine-year career under my belt, a master’s degree, and a professional certification, my income is higher. While it doesn’t hurt as much when I fill up my gas tank, I’m still reminded of how much the price of gas impacted my life. It still impacts me because my wife and I drive a full-size passenger van because of my eight-person family.
It is important to understand that it was a strange convergence of events that caused the price of gas to be so low the last decade. Why we used to enjoy low gas prices is because of three factors:
Senator Kevin Priola
Representative Matt Gray
The first is that the United States is one of the few countries where individuals are allowed to own the minerals in the ground. They can then sign contracts with oil and gas companies to drill and sell those minerals. This free market causes oil companies to be fiercely competitive. March of 2011, NATO commenced a seven-month bombing campaign in Libya and the country was tossed into a brutal civil war. This took almost 1,500 barrels per day of oil off the international market and helped support the price of crude oil for the next few years. Here is how this impacted the United States — oil producers decided that they were going to invest billions in exploring and developing shale oil fields where the cost of drilling for a barrel of oil is much higher. The scientists and petroleum engineers working for those companies then figured out ways to drive down the cost of drilling for shale oil. The United States ended up producing a higher percentage of the world’s supply of oil. This innovation was great for the United States but gave Saudi Arabia a headache.
This brings us to the second factor, Saudi Arabia and OPEC decided they would stop working so hard to prop up the price of crude oil by constantly cutting their own production. Instead, they would flood the market. From mid-2014 to early 2016 the price of crude oil dropped 70% as Saudi Arabia entered a risky battle with US Shale oil companies for market share. The Saudi’s won. This led to over 100 oil and gas companies declaring bankruptcy in 2020, including Whiting Oil and Gas which I used to work for. The bright side was that this oil war was saving American’s $180 billion a year.
The third factor that led to the low oil prices was that the world enjoyed some peace during the previous administration. The oil production of Libya came back on-line, and we managed to stay out of war with Iran. The combination of these three synergistic factors led to the low gas prices we used to enjoy. Those times will never return. Saudi Arabia is willing to keep oil prices high after winning their price war and demand for oil has recovered after last year’s government lockdowns. The cost of transporting our food to the grocery store, or driving to visit friends and family, or driving to work will remain expensive.
With this in mind, we must fight any new tax disguised as a fee on gas or transportation. The poor and middle class do not need to pay more at the pump as housing prices and out of control inflation continue to squeeze their budgets tighter and tighter.
The corporatists at Colorado Concern demonstrate how out of touch they are by giving Senator Kevin Priola their “In the Arena” award for his support of Senate Bill 260. This bill, sponsored in the State House by my Representative Matt Gray, creates an additional “fee” per gallon of gas. But the money doesn’t go to just roads, it’s also designed to funnel your money towards electrical vehicle “infrastructure” and to subsidize governments buying electric vehicles. Colorado Concern’s award is for the legislator whose “face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly… who spends himself in a worthy cause…” If politicians like Priola did have any guts, they would have taken this bill to the voters as required by the Taxpayer Bill of Rights. Rather they chose the easy way out by calling a tax a “fee.” This form of sniveling cowardice is what big business interests at Colorado Concern want more of. Next time you are at the gas pump, give State Senator Priola or Representative Gray a call and let them know you don’t appreciate their “fee” on the gas you need to live your life. Colorado Concern may be funded by wealthy cronies who want politicians to do their bidding, but it’s time the voters let them know we’ve had enough.
Karl Honegger is on the Steamboat Institute’s Emerging Leaders Council and a board member of the Colorado Union of Taxpayers. He is a Certified Treasury Professional and works for a “tech-enabled” healthcare company as a Financial Reporting Accountant.
by Charles Bonniwell | Oct 22, 2021 | Feature Story Bottom Left
Yes it was on Friday the 13th, a day steeped in mythology as a day of ill omens, in March of 2020, that President Donald J. Trump speaking in the White House Rose Garden, declared a national emergency that could free up $50 billion to help fight the pandemic and said that he was empowering the secretary of Health and Human Services to waive certain laws and regulations to ensure that the COVID-19 virus can be contained and patients treated.
“To unleash the full power of the federal government … I am officially declaring a national emergency,” Trump said.
“Two very big words,” he added.
Yes, they were and marked the beginning of the end to his presidency. The concept was to institute on a state-by-state basis lockdowns, mask mandates, and social distancing so that COVID-19 cases would be spread over a longer period so that ICU beds and ventilator machines would not be overwhelmed. All we had to do was go on a stay-at-home vacation for 15 days and all would be well. Approaching the two-year anniversary of that declaration we cannot be amazed at our overwhelming naiveté.
The result was a long-term worldwide recession, the loss of personal freedom, and liberty throughout the once called “Free World” from Italy to Australia, and the imposition of the “dictatorship of the public health bureaucracy.” If Karl Marx had only realized that the overthrow of democracy and capitalism did not require a bloody revolution but simply a public health mandate, we could have saved tens of millions of lives. In China, the apparent source of COVID-19, and the only remaining major country with a communist government, perhaps they did. They closed the city of Wuhan, China, from the rest of China but opened Wuhan up to the rest of the world. No COVID-19 recession for China but a recession for the rest of the world. Brilliant!
Of course, Trump was not the only politician to egregiously suffer due to that fateful Friday the 13th. Democrat New York Governor Andrew Cuomo initially rode the COVID-19 wave to great adulation, even garnering an International Emmy for his daily COVID briefings. In the end, however, he had to resign in disgrace in part from of the discovery that his dictates that nursing homes had to take in contiguous COVID-19 patients cost thousands of lives, which he fraudulently tried to hide. The coup de grâce came with the revelation that the so-called “LuvGov” was, in fact, a serial sexual harasser.
But what if Trump had ignored the advice from ever contradicting Dr. Anthony Fauci and the highly political Center for Disease Control and Prevention, and rode through the Ides of March doing nothing but shepherding through the development and distribution of vaccines for COVID-19. The one European country that ignored all of the lockdown mandates and impingements on civil liberties was surprisingly, Sweden, headed by the Swedish Social Democratic Party. From the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Public Health Agency, Folkhälsomyndigheten, embarked on a de-facto herd immunity approach, allowing community transmission to occur relatively unchecked. There were no mandatory measures taken to limit crowds on public transport, in shopping malls, or in other crowded venues, while recommending only a limit of 50 people for gatherings. Sweden’s mortality rates were lower than the European Union and the United States and its economy prospered.
In America, states like Nebraska, Wyoming, and Florida, which limited and quickly lifted COVID-19 restrictions appear to have weathered comparatively well when put up against highly restrictive states such as New York and California. Colorado, under Governor Polis, took a somewhat middle ground and at least did not go with the Draconian measures adopted by states such as Michigan, under the leadership of Governor Whitmer. In Denver we did get to see up close and personal the hypocrisy of the political elites when Mayor Hancock was at DIA texting to city employees not to travel over the Thanksgiving holidays, while he was heading to Texas and Mississippi to spend the holidays with family.
Was it all worth it? The autocrats and authoritarians and their admirers on the left and right will tell you it was. They certainly learned how easy it is to cower and control a populace. But at least for some the lesson learned is that next time they tell us the equivalent of it is just “15 days to flatten the curve” we know what they mean. It is time to again destroy liberty and freedom for as long as they can possibly get away with it.
— Editorial Board
by Charles Bonniwell | Sep 27, 2021 | Feature Story Bottom Left
Golden Rule: Phil Anschutz, Colorado’s wealthiest man.
The Colorado Republican Party met down in Pueblo for its fall meeting to consider whether to opt-out of the state run primary. The prominent Democrats had funded statewide referendums called Propositions 107 and 108 back in 2016, which made for Presidential primaries (107) and for open primaries for all others partisan elections (108) whereby unaffiliated voters would receive ballots from both parties and could choose one.
Similar measures had been passed in California and Utah, which mandated acceptance by the parties. Such mandates were found to be unconstitutional in federal courts so this time the provision was made where a political party could opt-out provided 75% of all its State Central Committee (the “SCC”) voted every two years in the fall to do so. Because of its extraordinary high percentage of all members, not just those voting, opting out is almost impossible.
Does this pass constitutional muster? Not according to virtually everyone from conservative legal scholar John Eastman to the liberal Legal Director of the Colorado ACLU Mark Silverstein. A group of grassroot Republicans who are members of the SCC (including the publisher of this paper) began touring the state to convince fellow members of the SCC to vote for opt-out of Proposition 108 at the fall meeting.
The merry band of grassroot activists did not do so because they thought they could achieve the nearly impossible task of getting 75% of all the SCC members to opt-out. In fact, 75% of all the members seldom even attend the fall meeting. The activists did so to get the leadership to act on the issue and bring suit in federal court to determine once all for all the unconstitutionality of Proposition 108.
Somewhat improbably the campaign caught fire and began to attract backers across the state. The Republican SCC is composed of 520 members which includes all state House and Senate legislators who are Republicans as well as the Republican Chair, Vice Chair, and Secretary of each of the 64 counties, as well as bonus members from the more populated counties.
Adherents for the opt-out included State Representatives Dave Williams, Matt Soper, Patrick Neville, Stephanie Luck, and Ron Hanks, former U.S. Congressman Tom Tancredo, Republican National Committeeman and radio host Randy Corporon, State Party Vice Chair Priscilla Rahm, and State Party Secretary Marilyn Harris.
But then came the counterattack from the Republican Party establishment who have controlled the Republican Party for over 20 years, and who dislike the grassroot Republicans more than the farthest left Democrats. The Colorado Republican Party has been, and is, controlled by one person, the state’s richest man, billionaire Phil Anschutz. Very few grassroots Republicans were ever actually aware of this fact.
Anschutz is the owner of the Broadmoor Resort in Colorado Springs, among many other business enterprises, including the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings and Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG). He also controls the Colorado Springs Gazette newspaper and the blog sites Colorado Politics and the Denver Gazette. He is also rumored to be the biggest contributor to the Denver free market think tank, the Independence Institute, which in turn controls Complete Colorado a news aggregator.
The Discovery: Grassroots Republicans discover that Phil Anschutz is the man behind the curtain in Republican politics.
Anschutz never publicly expresses his political views and works behind the scenes through layers of intermediators. It is believed that he is not a Trump fan, and he is what was once called a “Rockefeller Republican.” His hires for editors and reporters at Colorado Politics and Denver Gazette are almost all left of center liberals and mostly laid off former Denver Post employees. His publications regularly attack grassroot politicians like former State House minority leader Patrick Neville while writing endless puff pieces on moderate Republicans like two-time failed gubernatorial candidate Bob “Both Ways” Beauprez.
The content of his publications tends to be almost no different than The Denver Post except for occasionally having moderate Republicans write opinion pieces. It is believed he has come to accept Democrat hegemony over the state governments of California and Colorado, where most of his business enterprises are located. He has figured out how to have his businesses thrive in such environments.
He clearly didn’t like the opt-out idea and all of a sudden, every one of his publications went on the attack and opposed the opt-out. Even though the Independence Institute’s Jon Caldera is not a Republican and now votes in Democrat primaries, he wrote an editorial condemning the opt-out and then emailed pleas to 520 members of the Republican SCC to vote no on the opt-out. The same for 710 KNUS host Jimmy Sengenberger who has been financially supported by Anschutz organizations. Anschutz even had the Colorado Gazette issue a scathing editorial on the eve of the Republican fall meeting condemning the opt-out vote.
In the end, the opt-out vote failed by a 60% to 40% margin of those attending the fall meeting. It was short of the required 75% of all members of the entire SCC. Ultimately, however, the grassroots won. They were able to get over 75% of the members to attend the fall meeting forcing the State Chair Kristi Burton Brown to even have a vote. Following that failed vote a motion and a resolution were passed almost unanimously demanding the party be a plaintiff to a federal lawsuit to overturn Proposition 108 and set up a separate fund to support such a lawsuit.
Anschutz won the opt-out battle but lost the war. Undoubtedly, Anschutz will try to scuttle the lawsuit too, but it is not clear he will be able to do so. Perhaps, more importantly grassroot Republicans have been able at long last to pull the curtain aside and see who their “Wizard of Oz” opponent really is.
by Glendale Sports Center | Aug 27, 2021 | Feature Story Bottom Left
by Claudia Morlan, Sr. Director of Communications, YMCA of Metro Denver
“As an international student, winter holidays were often challenging. I was far away from friends and family. I often felt homesick and isolated. A friend from college invited me to spend my first Thanksgiving with her family. They opened up their home to me like I was family, even though my own was far away in Jordan. It’s now my responsibility to treat newcomers with the same hospitality. My hope is that people will experience the same kindness that made me feel like I belonged.”
Fairouz A. describes this story as part of Belonging Begins with Us, a partnership with organizations across the U.S. to create a more welcoming nation where everyone belongs.
Belonging Begins with Us is also the theme of Welcoming Week at YMCAs this year, including the YMCA of Metro Denver. During Welcoming Week, September 10-19, 2021, we recognize that there are many more things that unite us as neighbors and citizens than divide us. We can all play a role in making sure everyone feels safe and welcome in our community.
What can you do to foster a more welcoming place? Here are five easy steps:
- Read a book written by or about an immigrant’s story.
- Learn to say “hello” in a different language and try it out with a friend.
- Share a story on social media about your family’s heritage or immigrant story and invite others to share.
- Support an immigrant-owned business.
- Try a recipe from a cookbook like the “The Taste of Belonging” by Immigrant Pathways Colorado.
Whatever you choose to do, remember finding points of connection and sharing experiences help create strong, supportive communities. Learn more about Welcoming Week at denverymca.org/new-american-welcome-center.
by Glendale Sports Center | Jul 23, 2021 | Feature Story Bottom Left
by Katie Canfield, Community Relations Manager
As a volunteer, you don’t always know the impact you have on the people around you. To the Roberts Family, they will never forget the impact Coach Robert Diaz had on their son Jack. Serving as a volunteer baseball coach for the YMCA of Metro Denver for five seasons, Coach Diaz left an indelible mark on many young athletes.
Crediting Diaz for “including and encouraging” their son Jack, Sasha Roberts says Diaz accepted him for “who he is and met him at his level.” She praised Diaz for giving their Park Hill baseball team “a safe space to develop and grow and ‘develop a love for the game.’”
It was a year of limited in-person connection, but 2020 was also a time when many stepped up their effort to help their communities through volunteering.
For East High School Student Aitiana Wilson, volunteering for the YMCA’s Beyond Hunger food pantry program was her salvation.
“I was surrounded by negative news … and decided to go out and help someone,” said Wilson, who became a YMCA volunteer during her junior year of remote learning. At the weekly food distribution, she says, “I started talking to people, built connections and it felt great. I want to do it as often as I can.”
As we are, once again, safely and freely connecting with friends, family and our communities, there are so many opportunities to volunteer.
Consider joining the volunteers at the Southwest YMCA who are assembling and distributing bags of fresh groceries to families in need. The YMCA distributed 220,000 pounds of food to 23,000 individuals in 2020 and the need has not abated.
Across the city, nearly 16,000 youth athletes are participating in basketball, baseball, lacrosse, tennis, soccer, and tennis leagues under the direction of trained YMCA staff. But they couldn’t do it without the help of dedicated volunteer coaches assisting in teaching the fundamentals of the game and good sportsmanship.
Or join “Team Y” at neighborhood events this summer and fall including hosting the YMCA Kids Zone at the Littleton Western Welcome Week (Aug. 21), South by Southeast Community Festival (Aug. 21), or hosting the Kids Zone at the Arvada Harvest Festival (Sept. 10-12).
As Coach Diaz attests, “Coaching at the Y has been one of the best service experiences of my life. Through giving, I have received so much in return.”
There are so many opportunities to contribute in your community. Visit denver ymca.org/volunteer and learn how you can support a program or event near you.
by Glendale Sports Center | Jun 25, 2021 | Feature Story Bottom Left
by Sandy McClain, Senior Director of Human Resources, YMCA of Metro Denver
“My hope is that after years of summer camp at the YMCA, Ten can come back as a counselor someday,” said Giovanna, whose son Tennyson attends YMCA summer camp where he is “surrounded by awesome staff that make him feel special while having amazing experiences.”
More than 1,400 youth are in YMCA summer day camp this summer at locations across the Denver Metro area. After a difficult school year, with remote learning and isolation from friends, it’s an exciting summer for kids to get back to being kids.
Camp is the place where youth make friends and build character. They are part of a community, a safe place to learn how to be more independent but also how to contribute to a group as they engage in physical, emotional and educational activities.
Camp teaches self-reliance, a love of the outdoors and where kids foster leadership skills. Caleb J. attends YMCA Day Camp and his camp counselors can’t say enough about his leadership skills in welcoming in new kids while his adoptive mom says the skills he’s learned at camp extend to his responsibilities at home.
Those skills learned as a camper at the Y can be taken into any future job and career. The Y gives youth early work experience, employing 61,000 college-aged young adults at camps across the country each year. Further, a summer position at the Y can be a launching pad for a long-term career within the YMCA. YMCA of Metro Denver staff members Giovanni Forrest and Claudia Nunez-Medina were counselors at Camp Chief Ouray at YMCA of the Rockies and today serve in roles in our Solution Center and at our Downtown YMCA. Co-workers Abby Kenner and Darren Krische began their Y careers as day camp counselors together at the YMCA and today are leaders for the Youth Development team.
While summer is the busiest season, the YMCA of Metro Denver offers both seasonal and year-around career opportunities. If you want to make a difference in a child’s life and gain lifelong experience, join us. Visit denverymca.org/employment.
