A strong, independent streak runs through Colorado politics, a vein of common sense that cuts across party lines -- and leads straight to Ari Armstrong, the creator of FreeColorado.com, and a man always ready to smack down political correctness.
When Independence Institute head Jon Caldara was slapped for saying "bitch slap," Armstrong quickly pointed out how many times the term had been used in other spots, including this very publication -- and then followed up with the revelation that ProgressNow, which was calling for Caldara's shiny head, had also used the term. In a more consuming project, Armstrong showed just how well you could eat on food stamps. (As Joel Warner reportered here, Armstrong chowed down on super-healthy groceries that came out to $4.72 a day -- considerably less than the $5.68 daily food-stamp average.)
Now comes word that Armstrong's straight-talking efforts have been rewarded with the Modern-Day Sam Adams Award from the Chicago-based Sam Adams Alliance. "Armstrong wins the $10,000 prize for his relentless--and ubiquitous--defense of free markets and individual liberty in the state of Colorado," the Alliance announced yesterday.
"I thank the Sam Adams Alliance for recognizing the important work for liberty done at the regional level," Armstrong says. "I thank my fellow liberty activists in Colorado -- especially my wife -- for teaching me so much about liberty, individual rights, and free markets, and how to advocate those values through intellectual activism. This award is for you, my brothers and sisters in liberty."
He'll pick up the prize on April 18 at an awards event featuring such luminaries as Jonathan Hoenig, Michelle Malkin (a new Colorado resident) and Joe "The Plumber" Wurzelbacher.
Ah, well. Fame has its price.
Find the Sam Adams announcement here.