Opinion

While the feds take their time, immigration “reform” is in full swing in Colorado. Once seen as a forerunner in strict regulation against illegal residency, the state is rapidly becoming a haven of opportunity for those that choose to visit, without paperwork and without permission.

Is it over yet? Following what seems an endless succession of snowstorms, squalls and outright blizzards, the skies have finally cleared.

    Slowly, Mother Nature returns the heavens to the sunny disposition Colorado is famous for. Nice as it sounds, it’s about damn time for some sunshine around here. I actually heard a couple from Seattle reminiscing last week about how nice it’s been lately, the soggy gloom boosting their waterlogged memories.

In a step toward further accountability by the industry, House Bill 1267 — which would raise fines for oil and gas drilling violations — cleared the first hurdle last week, getting passed out of the House Transportation and Energy Committee Thursday and headed for the finance committee.

When a story has resonance with a readership, it’s said to have legs. Last month’s story — “Unincorporated Adams County up in arms over storm water fee fiasco” — goes one appendage further, propelled by fins into the most controversial item I’ve put together in years.

No wonder.

The decision by the Adams County Commission to institute a storm water utility and bill residents for the privilege is a hugely unpopular move among residents of the unincorporated county.

During last year’s election cycle, the battle cry of the Democrat Party was “Tax the rich!”

For some weird reason, the Republicans were opposed to that. I say a weird reason, because my fellow Republicans seem to want to do a big favor for people who never want to do them any favors at all.

Who won the New Year’s Eve budget standoff? In one sense, everyone scored a “victory.” The deal that Congress eventually blessed includes scores of provisions. Most Americans can point to at least one that works to their financial favor.

As an ex-military member and sport shooter, I’m solidly pro-Second Amendment.
    Some of my firearms came into my possession pre-Brady, some after. I’m not turning those over to any ridiculous gun buyback program offering pennies on the dollar, despite calls to tame gun violence by disarming responsible citizens.

If you’re going to make a blatantly political film to advance your point of view, you should make sure it’s good.
    But sometimes the passion in a passion project is so strong, you lose sight of things.
    That’s the case in “Promised Land,” an anti-fracking polemic disguised as a morality tale pitting a salesman for a natural gas company (Matt Damon) and an environmental activist (John Krasinski, “The Office”) against one another for the soul and shale of small-town America.

Jim Hightower