Colorado

Colorado

Capital	Denver
Nickname	The Centennial State
Official Language	English
Governor	Jared Polis, D
Senator	John Hickenlooper, D []
Senator	Michael Bennet, D (202) 224-5852 Contact
Population	5,800,000 (2020)
Ratification of Constitution/or statehood	August 1, 1876 (38th)
	Motto: "Nil Sine Numine" (Nothing Without the Deity)

Colorado became the 38th state of the United States with its admission to Statehood on August 1, 1876. It is known for its skiing and snowboarding resorts, such as Vail and Aspen in the Rocky Mountains, which run north-south through the state. In the mountains and plains the winters are usually very cold and produce many snowstorms. However, along the front range (where Denver, Boulder, Colorado Springs, Pueblo, Greeley and most large cities are located), the weather is more mild and is very sunny.

The United States Air Force Academy and North American Aerospace Defense Command are located in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

The state Constitution of Colorado, like all of the other 50 states, acknowledges God or our Creator or the Sovereign Ruler of the Universe. It says:

We, the people of Colorado, with profound reverence for the Supreme Ruler of the Universe, in order to form a more independent and perfect government; establish justice; insure tranquility; provide for the common defense; promote the general welfare and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this constitution for the "State of Colorado."

In Colorado, abortion is protected by law, and it is possible that the murder of infants is legal.

Elevation

Colorado

A number of Colorado cities are located near the Front Range of the Rockies, at elevations of around 5,000 feet. Denver, its capital and largest city, is sometimes called "The Mile-High City", because the official elevation of Denver City Hall is exactly 5,280 feet.

Mount Elbert is the highest point in Colorado, at an elevation of 14,440 feet. It is one of over 500 mountains in the state that exceed 13,000 feet. The entire state lies at an elevation over 3,000 feet.

At elevations of 5,000 feet, the air is thinner and air pressure is lower than at sea level. It is not unusual for visitors to feel lightheaded for a day or two until they adjust (but actual altitude sickness is very rare). At this altitude, skies are a clearer, brighter blue than at sea level. At that elevation, water boils at only 203 degrees F, compared to 212 degrees at sea level, so cooking recipes have to be modified.

Official Symbols

Colorado has many official state symbols including:

• State Bird: Lark Bunting
• State Flower: Rocky Mountain Columbine
• State Animal: Big Horn Sheep
• State Fish: Greenback Cutthroat Trout
• State Tree: Colorado Blue Spruce
• State Folk Dance: Square Dance
• State Fossil: Stegosaurus
• State Gemstone: Aquamarine
• State Insect: Colorado Hairstreak Butterfly
• State Song: "Where the Columbines Grow" and "Rocky Mountain High"

Notable Coloradoans

• James Dobson, Christian psychologist and writer. Former head of the group Focus on the Family.
• John Elway, former quarterback for the Denver Broncos.
• Greg Ryder, County, Western, Western swing, ballad, folk, and popular singer and guitarist based in Durango
• Tom Tancredo, former US Representative.

Government officials

Federal

• Sen. Michael Bennet (D)
• Sen. John Hickenlooper (D)
• Rep. Diana DeGette [D, CO–1]
• Rep. Joe Neguse [D, CO–2]
• Rep. Lauren Boebert [R, CO–3]
• Rep. Ken Buck [R, CO–4]
• Rep. Doug Lamborn [R, CO–5]
• Rep. Jason Crow [D, CO–6]
• Rep. Ed Perlmutter [D, CO–7]

Statewide

• Governor Jared Polis (D)
• Lt. Governor Dianne Primavera (D)
• Secretary of State Jena Griswold (D)
• Attorney General Phil Weiser (D)
• State Treasurer Dave Young (D)

Voter fraud

See also: voter fraud

In 2020 Colorado's Democrat Secretary of State mailed postcards to dead people and non-citizens urging them to go online and register to vote. Postcards were mailed to around 750,000 people. Denver's CBS4 found postcards going to a deceased woman in Las Animas County, six migrant workers in Otero County, a Canadian in Douglas County, a man from Lebanon in Jefferson County, and a British citizen in Arapahoe County. Karen Anderson opened her mail and found one of the postcards addressed to her mother who had been dead for four years and the State of Colorado even issued her mother's death certificate. Colorado Director of the Secretary of State's elections division, Judd Choate, claimed the state goes to 'great lengths' to ensure the accuracy of the state's voter rolls. "Colorado does virtually every single possible thing it can do reasonably to clean its voter rolls," he said, adding that the list they use for the postcards is compiled by the National Electronic Registration Information System - which uses data from the DMV, national and state death records, voter rolls in other states, and change of address forms. He says his office then performs a second vetting.

Election interference

See also: 2024 Presidential election interference

The four Colorado Democrat justices (circled in red) who tried to upend American democracy and the United States Constitution.

The self-proclaimed “nonpartisan” watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) spearheaded the Colorado lawsuit against President Trump. Beth Nolan, CREW’s board chair, sent thousands to Biden’s campaign and victory fund in 2020. Wayne Jordan, the group’s vice chair, funneled a staggering $300,000 to the Biden Victory Fund. Jordan’s wife, Quinn Delaney, is a Democrat mega-donor who contributed a whopping $650,000 to Biden’s efforts. David Brock, founder of the notoriously biased Media Matters and American Bridge, is a former board chair. CREW has also received millions from George Soros, raising further questions about CREWS independence and "nonpartisan" status.

William Hood, Richard Gabriel, Melissa Hart, and Monica Marquez are associate justices of the Colorado Supreme Court, who attempted to disqualify President Trump name from Colorado 2024 presidential election primary ballot in December 2023. The case was immediately appealed in federal court. The Federalist observed, "If it wasn’t obvious before now that the left will do anything to stop Donald Trump from winning a second term in the White House, the events of the last few days should leave no doubt in any American’s mind...Democrats, including President Biden, are prepared not only to rig the 2024 election in broad daylight but also to twist the U.S. Constitution and undermine the republic so they can hold on to power".

The Republican–American of Waterbury, Connecticut, in an editorial entitled A real assault on democracy, said:

"Americans should be thanking the Colorado Supreme Court for spelling out as clearly as possible the modern left-wing conception of democracy. To this cohort of Americans — animated by the idea that their opposition to Donald Trump grants them unchecked moral authority — preserving democratic rule means ensuring, by any means necessary, the people vote the right way. In other words, democracy is so sacred that it must be protected from the voters. Authoritarianism is so dangerous that it must be proactively employed to stop potential authoritarians….

The court stayed its decision for when President Trump files an Appeal to the federal courts. In other words, the ballots will be printed with Trump’s name on them whether he is “disqualified” or not. This feature of the decision suggests that it was never about knocking Trump off the ballot. It was a publicity stunt to distract from bad news about Biden.

See also

• Gordon Allott
• Peter Dominick
• Rocky Mountains
• Colorado Universities
• Purple states - swing states that can vote either Republican or Democrat
• Blue states or Democratic
• Red states or Republican

Bibliography

• Abbott, Carl, Stephen J. Leonard, and David McComb. Colorado: A History of the Centennial State. 2nd ed 1982.
• Athearn, Robert G. The Coloradans. 1976. popular history
• Athearn, Robert G. Rebel of the Rockies: A History of the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad. 1962.
• Baker, James H., and Leroy R. Hafen, eds. History of Colorado. 5 vol State Historical Society of Colorado, 1927, with many short biographical sketches
• Bancroft, Hubert Howe, History of Nevada, Colorado, and Wyoming, 1540-1888 (1890) 828 pages; famous classic; online edition
• Eugene H. Berwanger. The Rise of the Centennial State: Colorado Territory, 1861-76, (2007) 208 pages
• Cassels, E. Steve. The Archeology of Colorado. Boulder: Johnson Books, 1983
• Cronin, Thomas E. and Robert D. Loevy. Colorado Politics & Government: Governing the Centennial State, (1993) online edition
• Ellis, Elmer. Henry Moore Teller: Defender of the West. 1941.
• Ellis, Richard N., and Duane A. Smith. Colorado: A History in Photographs. 1991.
• Gulliford, Andrew. Boomtown Blues: Colorado Oil Shale, 1885-1985. 1989.
• Hafen, Le Roy R. Colorado: The Story of a Western Commonwealth. 1933.
• Hogan, Richard. Class and Community in Frontier Colorado. 1990.
• Lamm, Richard D., and Duane A. Smith. Pioneers and Politicians: 10 Colorado Governors in Profile. 1981. popular
• Lorch, Robert S. Colorado's Government. 5th ed. 1991. textbook
• Ormes, Robert M. Guide to the Colorado Mountains. 7th ed. 1979.
• Parsons, Eugene. The Making of Colorado: A Historical Sketch (1908) 324 pages online edition
• Rohrbough, Malcolm J. Aspen: The History of a Silver Mining Town, 1879-1893. 1986. scholarly study
• Scamehorn, Lee. High Altitude Energy: A History of Fossil Fuels in Colorado (2002) online edition
• Scamehorn, Lee. Mill & Mine: The Cf&I in the Twentieth Century (1992) online edition
• Schulte, Steven C. Wayne Aspinall and the Shaping of the American West (2002) online edition
• Smith, Duane A. Henry M. Teller: Colorado's Grand Old Man, 2002 online edition
• Sprague, Marshall. Money Mountain: The Story of Cripple Creek Gold (1979) online edition
• Ubbelohde, Carl, Maxine Benson, and Duane Smith. A Colorado History. 6th ed. 1988. textbook
• Wright, James Edward. The Politics of Populism: Dissent in Colorado. 1974. on 1890s

Primary sources

• Ubbelohde, Carl, ed. A Colorado Reader (2nd ed 1964)
• Fossett, Frank. Colorado: A Historical, Descriptive and Statistical Work on the Rocky Mountain Gold and Silver Mining Region (1878) 470 pages online edition
• Fossett, Frank. Colorado, Its Gold and Silver Mines: Farms and Stock Ranges, and Health and Pleasure Resorts (1880), 1184 pages online edition
• Parsons, Eugene. A Guidebook to Colorado (1911) 390 pages online edition