That's Why We Call It the Big Con

Did you know that the University of Colorado just picked as its new president a former oil executive who denies global warming [1]?

Now that I've got your attention.

In a post yesterday David Sirota mentioned [2] Colorado's lunatic "Taxpayer Bill of Rights," or TABOR—the fruit of mad scientist Grover Norquist's attempt to drown government in a bathtub, one state at a time. TABOR laws basically force state legislatures to systematically cut spending, regardless of need. How's that working out for the Rocky Mountain State? Well, an outstanding and comprehensive post on the blog Scholars and Rogues [3] shows how, thanks to TABOR's enforced budget cuts, "the state isn't producing enough quality grads to meet the labor demand here."

That's why they've brought in this millionaire right-wing Republican to run the flagship state university. To, you know, help them raise enough money to make up for the shortfall brought on by millionaire right-wing Republicans.