Paul Ryan

Nathan Wilkins: Is Georgia teen who faked suicide after child-sex charge in Aurora?

The path that may have led Nathan Wilkins, nineteen, from his Georgia home to Aurora is an undeniably twisted one. The story thus far features a child-sex sting involving Craigslist and a "slushy," Facebook posts about eBay shopping and political commentary, an elaborately staged suicide and the fi ... More >>

In Jon, teens express themselves in an artificial world

Fiscal cliff: Why did Democratic Senator Michael Bennet vote against Obama's deal?

On Tuesday, at 12:29 a.m., just as Colorado began celebrating the New Year, Senator Michael Bennet's staff released a statement explaining why, in a break from his Democratic colleagues and the president, he voted against the plan to avert the fiscal cliff. The decision made him one of only eight se ... More >>

Meet the 2012 Denver #WebAwards winners

Why do musicians endorse candidates?

There's probably a certain amount of sincerity involved when a famous musician endorses a political candidate. But even the most un-cynical, democracy-loving patriot will have to admit that there's a hell of a lot more to the rock star/candidate public union than just fiscal policy. Endorsing a poli ... More >>

Photos: Mitt Romney tells 17,000 in Englewood he will win the election

On Saturday morning, Vice President Joe Biden told a crowd in Arvada that a vote for Mitt Romney is a vote for a candidate who doesn't have confidence in average Americans. But after taking the stage at Comfort Dental Amphitheatre that night, Romney told thousands that a vote for him is for "love of ... More >>

Paul Ryan loves a challenge -- but a Johnson's Corner cinnamon roll?

Paul Ryan is a marathon man. The Republican vice-presidential candidate runs them (although his time is in dispute) and he's been on a marathon campaign trip through all the swing states, including Colorado. Where today Ryan and the Romney campaign will visit Johnson's Corner in Johnstown, just sou ... More >>

Jill Biden in Colorado: "Nine days left -- I'm sure all of you are just as happy as I am"

It's the final countdown to Election Day and Jill Biden, wife of Vice President Joe Biden, is looking toward the finish line. At a campaign stop at an Obama field office in Lakewood last night, the Second Lady pushed the reelection of the Obama-Biden team as the right choice for women, veterans, stu ... More >>

The many daring stories of Cloud Atlas can't be told properly in its run time

See also: What makes a Wachowski movie a Wachowski movie?

Photos: Obama counters Romney's Red Rocks event with huge City Park rally

With election day less than two weeks away, Colorado is continuing to get a lot of love from both presidential campaigns, and for good reason: The state is divided. This fact was evidenced yesterday by a massive City Park rally for the president less than 24 hours after Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan pac ... More >>

Photos: The Romney/Ryan Victory Rally with Kid Rock and Rodney Atkins at Red Rocks

Last night at Red Rocks, presidential hopefuls Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan held their optimistically titled Victory Rally at Red Rocks. More than 10,000 people reportedly showed up and thousands were turned away. Kid Rock and Rodney Atkins both played a batch of acoustic songs. According to Brandon Ma ... More >>

Mitt Romney on "supercharged" campaign, "handiwork of our creator" at Red Rocks

Standing in front of around 10,000 supporters at by far his most extravagant Colorado rally of the presisdential race, Mitt Romney last night took in the breathtaking sight of Red Rocks Amphitheatre filled with cheering swing-state voters who want him to be the next president. "Wow, that's a Color ... More >>

Photos: Ten Obama supporters on whether he can recover from his Denver debate

Since President Barack Obama struggled in his Denver debate against Mitt Romney, some have questioned whether his improved performances in the second two debates can undo the damage. Today, a day after Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan rallied at Red Rocks, Obama is making a stop at City Park in Denver. We ... More >>

Kid Rock joining Mitt Romney at Red Rocks: Will Colorado swing?

You didn't need to listen to all the pundits dissect the presidential debate to know that Colorado is still a swing state. Just check traffic reports: Today, Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan will hold a rally at Red Rocks -- accompanied by Kid Rock. (This might be the only way Kid Rock could ever get a gig ... More >>

Mitt Romney Twitter death threats

Tonight, Mitt Romney is scheduled to headline Red Rocks, joined by vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan and Kid Rock (really). But while most observers feel Romney lost last night's third and final presidential debate, his performance apparently concerned a number of folks on Twitter enough to inspir ... More >>

Photos: Colorado Democrats push early vote (for Obama) on heels of high registration numbers

Today is the first day that voters can cast their ballots in person as part of early voting in Colorado -- and the state's top Democratic officials set an example by voting in front of a bunch of cameras in Denver. The photo op underscores how important the ground game is for Obama in key swing stat ... More >>

Romney/Ryan Victory Rally Tuesday to feature Kid Rock and Rodney Atkins at Red Rocks

Okay, so just when we thought we heard the last chords ring out for the year at Red Rocks comes word that the hills will once again be alive without the sound of music tomorrow night. There's another show slated for the Rocks, and this one's rather last minute and features a pair of acts supporting ... More >>

Mitt Romney's ad-buying blitz may translate into post-debate Colorado bounce

Denver blog posts know that "DU" isn't pronounced "duh." Colorado Peak Politics' Dave Diepenbrock cites stats showing Mitt Romney is out-buying Barack Obama when it comes to TV ads, and expects the polls to move as a result. Colorado Pols on how to get around tonight's I-25 closure. Denver Frank ... More >>

NPR drinks up New Belgium Brewery's energy policy in pre-debate Fort Collins series

In the build-up to tonight's presidential debate in Colorado, the folks at National Public Radio have been focusing on Fort Collins. The final part of the series, which aired today, focuses on energy policy...and also brewskis, since a significant portion of the segment features New Belgium Brewery' ... More >>

Photos: John Elway's love for Mitt Romney (and every Republican presidential candidate)

Last night, the Mitt Romney campaign got a lot of bounce from announcing the endorsement of John Elway -- and having Elway introduce Romney at a Wings Over the Rockies rally. In truth, though, Elway's declaration of support is about as surprising as Tim Tebow taking a knee after scoring a touchdown. ... More >>

Ed Perlmutter, Joe Coors launch attacks during season's biggest Congressional debate

Candidates for Congress fielded questions for hours this morning at a forum in Thorton where six politicians debated the economy and job creation, taxes, energy policy and unsurprisingly, health care -- launching a jam-packed week of political events in Colorado.

Photos: Mitt Romney says our rights come from God in Jeffco speech

After a week of particularly difficult headlines, and nearly two months since his last rally here, Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney returned to Colorado last night, delivering a stump speech focusing on the economy and President Barack Obama's record -- and not on the recent controversies ... More >>

Reel Rock 7 Tour: Hottest ticket in town?

File under you know you're in Boulder when....Promoters of the Reel Rock Tour announced last night that tickets for the kickoff of their package tour of the year's best climbing films on Thursday at Chautauqua Auditorium have already sold out, and that there are only about 100 tickets left out of a ... More >>

Feminism is as urgent as ever at Ice Cube Gallery and Pirate: Contemporary Art

Paul Ryan returns to Colorado as group questions whether he climbed nearly forty 14ers

Update below: Paul Ryan is just a regular outdoorsy guy who likes to climb mountains. At least that's the image Ryan presented in one of his first rallies as the vice presidential candidate for the Republican Party -- in a speech last month at Lakewood High School where he mentioned his love of Colo ... More >>

Where's Mike Coffman? website targets congressman -- and his campaign hits back

Where's Mike Coffman? That's the question raised by a new site called Wheresmikecoffman.com, which accuses the reelection-seeking Republican congressman of being unresponsive to voters. In response, Coffman's spokesman says the politician has been available at all kinds of public events -- and deno ... More >>

Videos: Maria Ciano, Colorado ex-Republican, sparks non-controversy controversy at DNC

Last night, a number of folks with Colorado ties spoke at the Democratic National Convention, including Representative Jared Polis and Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar. But the one to arguably get the most attention was Colorado's Maria Ciano, who conservative media outlets like this one have d ... More >>

Red or blue, all eyes are on Colorado this election

Ryan Call, GOP chairman, on women's issues and Todd Akin: Democrats are desperate

In this week's feature, "Purple Haze," we outline how the close fight for Colorado's nine electoral votes could determine the next president of the United States. And a key part of that battle, nationally and in Colorado, involves the women's vote. Here's more from our interview with state GOP Cha ... More >>

Gazette's Wayne Laugesen on why he thinks Planned Parenthood covers up statutory rape

Update: This weekend, Colorado Springs Gazette editorial page editor Wayne Laugesen published a scathing piece in which he argued that Planned Parenthood was likely worse than Penn State when it came to covering up sexual assaults on children; our previous coverage is below. Laugesen explains the ti ... More >>

Videos: Mitt Romney's Todd "Legitimate Rape" Akin dodge overshadows CBS4 interview

Yesterday, CBS4's Shaun Boyd got a one-on-one opportunity to quiz presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney -- a nice coup for a local reporter. But Boyd's chat with Romney, seen in multiple clips below, made more news for his refusal to talk about Todd "Legitimate Rape" Akin than the ... More >>

Obama leading in Colorado, poll says, despite CU forecast predicting Romney win

This week, we shared a CU forecast predicting a Mitt Romney win in Colorado and the U.S. as a whole based on data that also proved accurate when applied to past presidential races. But a new poll says Barack Obama is maintaining his close lead in Colorado. Who to believe? If there's one thing everyo ... More >>

A gonzo guide to the Republican National Convention

Video: Rachel Maddow on bad lessons Paul Ryan learned from Mike Coffman

Since May, after Represntative Mike Coffman made his controversial birther statements and then tried dodging them, MSNBC's Rachel Maddow beat him like a filthy rug. She returned to this theme last night in a video on view below, but upped the stakes by linking him to Republican veep choice Paul Ryan ... More >>

Contest: Win Sunday brunch (plus drinks!) for four at Central Bistro and Bar

This past Sunday, Central Bistro and Bar, Lance Barto's hot, hip and happening contemporary American hangout in Highland, rolled out its new brunch menu (Nutella waffles!), and in honor of the occasion, we're giving one Cafe Society reader (and three guests) the chance to stuff their bellies for zer ... More >>

Update: Did student banned from Paul Ryan event plan glitter bombing?

Update:After we wrote about six different students who were banned from attending Congressman Paul Ryan's speech in Lakewood yesterday, an anonymous source sent us a screenshot from one of their Facebook pages that mentions tomatoes and glitter bombs. The image seemingly contradicts claims by at lea ... More >>

Ten Paul Ryan supporters on why they attended Lakewood rally

Although a handful of students weren't allowed to attend a speech by Mitt Romney running mate Paul Ryan yesterday, thousands of others crowded into Lakewood High School to hear Ryan speak. Here's what ten of those attending said about why they were there.

Reader: I wanted to see Paul Ryan speak, not disrupt event

Yesterday, while covering veep candidate Paul Ryan's speech in Lakewood, our Sam Levin spoke with six students banned from the event because they weren't enthusiastic fans of presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney. Lots of intriguing comments followed, including this from one of the ... More >>

Avery Brewing's Ale to the Chief returns to presidential beer politics

Tiny little Colorado, with its nine electoral votes, could make a big difference in the presidential election this year. Just ask President Obama, who has visited multiple times in the past three months, and Mitt Romney, who dispatched vice presidential selection Paul Ryan to our high-altitude swing ... More >>

Video: Rachel Maddow on Colorado and personhood in presidential race

Colorado has become a virtual co-star on Rachel Maddow's nightly MSNBC show. A week ago, she suggested that the Michael Bennet-Ken Buck 2010 senate race provided a road map for the Obama campaign. And last night, she used the state to frame her argument that Mitt Romney running mate Paul Ryan's mond ... More >>

Paul Ryan in Lakewood: Veep candidate talks economy, his love of Colorado

Had six non-Romney fans not be banned from attending, they would have learned that Congressman Paul Ryan is just a family man with a lot of love for the State of Colorado. That's how the newly announced vice presidential candidate presented himself at the start of his speech at Lakewood High School ... More >>

Independence Institute Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms party celebrates "perks of adulthood"

The Independence Institute's annual Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms party is "the most politically incorrect event of the year," as we tagged it years ago, and the tenth annual ATF event lived up to that billing Saturday even if it didn't make the news that the 2010 incarnation did -- when then-Senate ... More >>

Paul Ryan private Denver fundraiser, Lakewood rally more proof of swing state status

Further underscoring the importance of Colorado as a key swing state in the presidential election, Paul Ryan, the newly named Republican vice presidential candidate, is holding events in metro Denver tonight and tomorrow -- just two days after Mitt Romney announced his running mate. Ryan began his ... More >>

Top ten recent politicians to excuse stupid comments with "I misspoke"

Earlier, we reported about Representative Mike Coffman's excuse for a comment he made suggesting that Barack Obama may not have been born in the U.S.: "I misspoke." By making this claim, Coffman is in good company: It's become a favorite of politicians who say something dumb or inaccurate but want t ... More >>

Mayor Michael Hancock's Denver bucket list for 2012

​Denver has been threatened with doom many times -- when the transcontinental railroad threatened to skip the infant city, when numerous booms went bust, when the Rocky Flats Nuclear Weapons plant caught fire. Although the homegrown PeaceJam has debunked the latest doomsday scenario -- that th ... More >>

Bill Callahan on misunderstandings and his collaborations

Goya SkyeBill Callahan​ Bill Callahan (due Monday, June 27th) started releasing music under the moniker Smog in 1990. He was connected to the then-emerging underground network of music that included the indie label Kill Rock Stars, which included his song "37 Pushups ." Callahan's emotionally ... More >>

Marcell Dareus will definitely be Broncos' choice with No. 2 NFL draft pick! Or not!

Marcell Dareus.​Denver blog posts: They're good enough to eat. Mile High Report's KaptainKirk rounds up the latest draft rumors. Will the Broncos pick Marcell Dareus or another defensive stud? Square State's Fong predicts the ASSET bill will die for reasons he sees as racist. WhoSaidYouSaid ... More >>

Killing Routines

Elephant offers a neutral look at high school violence.

Columbine Fallout

Mature Home Room provides insight into the aftermath of school shootings.

Reel Violence

The Denver Film Festival looks at the effects of screen violence.