LET'S TELL THEM HOW IT'S DONE

In Colorado, we know how to do this. We know how to work the land, create energy, put people to work, help those in need, and provide cost effective health care. At what point did the federal government decide it could do a better job by making us dependent? How did we let the government just throw more and more money at problems, creating mandates and laws that make it harder for us to do what we do best – take care of ourselves, and give a hand up to others?

We know how to do this. Neighborhoods, rural ranching communities, small towns and cities in Western and Southern Colorado already know what needs to be done. And I’m about to prove that to the government.

Below I’ve created five categories where the feds have gotten into our business: job creation, energy resource management, health care, small business regulation, and helping the less fortunate. The government has thrown billions of dollars around, trying to “fix” what we know how to mend already. Let’s show them how it’s done in Colorado. I WANT TO HEAR YOUR STORIES about how you, your neighbors, and your community have done just fine in your way, helping yourselves and others. Our goal is let the nation see how we do it out here where neighbors look after each other. We will be an inspiration to the rest of the country and our stories will show the government that they can keep their money and their mandates. We don’t want it. We know how to do this.

• TEACH A MAN TO FISH: Creating Jobs
• THE LAND OF THE LOAVES AND FISHES: Energy Resources and Management
• COMMUNITY HEALTH CARE: The Grand Junction Model
• WHATSOEVER YOU DO: Helping the Less Fortunate
• INVENTING VELCRO: Supporting Small Businesses and Entrepreneurs

Please write your story in the COMMENT section, or e-mail me directly. Let’s tell the federal government to back off, give us free rein, and we’ll show you how it’s done. BE A PART OF THE STORY OF COLORADO. BE A PART OF THE NEW STORY OF AMERICA.

TEACH A MAN TO FISH: How We Get To Work

I’ve told the story (April 12: I Fought The Law and Jobs Won) about the jewelry making business in Huerfano County that was almost shut down by the government because it employed “home workers.” This small business used what was right there: talented, dedicated women who wanted to work at home. What a great solution to joblessness – use what is right in front of you.

• How have you helped get people to work in your community?
• What’s the single biggest roadblock to employment where you live?
• How do neighbors help neighbors create good work?
  
  WRITE YOUR STORY BELOW, OR E-MAIL ME: beawatchman@aol.com

THE LAND OF THE LOAVES AND FISHES: Abundance, Beauty, Energy

Look at what we have in Colorado: mountains, rivers, forests, oil, gas, coal, abundant pastures, and land right for raising cattle, sheep, other livestock, and food. Like the American Indians who were the stewards of this same land, folks in the Third District respect our natural resources. But we need to get out there and cultivate those resources, and we can do this responsibly and productively.

• How have you or your neighbors used the abundance of Colorado’s natural resources to make your lives better?
• How has your community decided to use what is available on the land or in the mountains to make life better?
• What is the single biggest roadblock you or your neighbors have to solving this country’s energy issues?
  
  WRITE YOUR STORY BELOW, OR E-MAIL ME: beawatchman@aol.com

THE GRAND JUNCTION COMMUNITY HEALTH CARE MODEL: Low Cost, High Quality, Near-Universal Care

Grand Junction has shown the country how a community can solve its own health care problems without billions of dollars in wasted pork. By working together, providers in Grand Junction and the surrounding area emphasize primary care and prevention. They cover nearly everyone. They conduct peer reviews to see if doctors generally choose proven treatments. The solution is considered “home grown” and is based on physician leadership.

Other communities have created local clinics that service everyone – the under and uninsured as well as those with health insurance – providing everything from free immunizations to screening and semi-urgent care. Check out Steamboat’s Visiting Nurse’s Association or Custer County’s Medical Clinic. These are creative solutions, state and community based, to the problem of low cost effective health care.

Finally, let’s talk about how churches and communities help the sick, just naturally. We are good folks at heart, and we always lend a hand.

• How does your community address its health care needs?
• Tell us a story about how neighbors help neighbors when there is illness;
• How does your church community address health care?
  
  WRITE YOUR STORY BELOW, OR E-MAIL ME: beawatchman@aol.com

WHATSOEVER YOU DO: Giving a Hand to Those in Need

Not sure where liberals or “progressives” got the idea that conservatives don’t care about the needy but conservative Republicans believe in family, neighborhood, church, and community. What we DON’T believe in, however, is creating a culture of dependency. In Colorado, if you hit hard times you can bet your neighbors or church will help out. But eventually, you will take care of yourself. That is the goal, not abject reliance on the government.

There’s not a rancher out there who hasn’t hit hard times and had meals or wood or hay or help show up on his doorstep. When Pastor Troy of Steamboat Christian Center set a goal to raise a ton of food by Thanksgiving, our community raised four. We do not forget those who need help; in fact, we take responsibility for our less fortunate. And then we expect them to help themselves, and others.

• Tell us a story about how you helped out a less fortunate friend or neighbor;
• How has your neighborhood or community responded to the needs of the less fortunate?
  
  WRITE YOUR STORY BELOW, OR E-MAIL ME beawatchman@aol.com

INVENTING VELCRO: Supporting Small Businesses and Entrepreneurs

For six years I ran a small guiding business in Custer County. My partner, Kevin Madler, and I used ingenuity in marketing and growing that business, until it inadvertently became a non-profit in 2006. So many folks in Colorado work in or own small businesses from the clerk in the 7-11 to bank tellers, to our favorite "Mom and Pop" restaurants (like Deb's Diner in Dove Creek) and stores all over the state.

• As a small business owner, how have you been creative in growing your business?
• If you work in a small business, tell a story about how you used your own initiative to make something happen.
• What's the single biggest obstacle to small businesses in your area?

WRITE YOUR COMMENT BELOW, OR E-MAIL ME: beawatchman@aol.com

GIVE US FREE REIN

These stories will show clearly how well people can do when the government gets out of the way. I'll keep you updated with the stories we gather. We'll have plenty to tell, because WE KNOW HOW TO DO THIS. Thanks, and keep the faith.
Bob