THE PRESS

The biggest news story of Colorado's political year so far has been running this past week. All about Scott McInnis, lawyer, ex-congressman and the Republican Party's choice to be our next governor.
All about how McInnis borrowed extensively from another man's scholarly writing on water policy and then sold his "musings," including the lifted material, as his original work. All for a considerable sum of money.
Well, that's called plagiarism, and it's serious, and in this case it's something every voter had a right to know about. Also, I think it's important to recognize just how it all came to light.
It wasn't from a talking head on TV. Not from a press agent's sanitized handout. Not from Google or Wikipedia or someone's blog.
It was from a daily newspaper. That old thing. From the Denver Post.
It was painstakingly dug out -- almost literally, I'd guess -- and laid before us by a reporter named Karen Crummy and a backup staff of people who, fortunately for us, are still doing what a newspaper is supposed to do.
It isn't like picking an apple off a tree. It takes days and days of poking around, scanning documents, asking a multitude of questions, weighing answers, checking everything twice. It takes time, money, brains, dedication.
And what I'm saying to you is that without newspapers, which are a financially endangered lot these days, stories like this would never see the light of day.
Who else would do it? Think about that.

Eureka!

There's good news today!
According to the Associated Press, the last Chrysler PT Cruiser -- the ugliest car on four wheels -- rolled off an assembly line in Mexico last Friday,
Maybe somewhere there is a car that is uglier, but I don't know where. AP describes it, charitably, as "a cross between an old-time milk truck and luxurious sedans of the 1930s."
Years ago, Ford produced a contender, a sedan with too much fin and a surplus strip of chrome that wandered, crazily, all the way across the middle of the roof. It was a wretched sight, but it didn't make me mutter coarse words every time I saw one. The PT Cruiser does that.
Now I know there will be PT Cruisers on the highways for many, many years, decades after I've had to give up muttering about them. But I can hope my great-grandchildren will have seen the last of them.

corruption

It is Independence Day, and while I don't have any fireworks to display, I'd like to make a small contribution in the name of patriotism.
In today's Denver Post, my old friend Fred Brown, a former crony at the paper, is quoted as part of a commentary on "Why we still love America."
Fred's first few words were these: "This may come as a surprise, but there are a great number of politicians -- especially in Colorado -- who are in it because they honestly think they can do some good . . ."
I agree wholeheartedly. And I agree that this idea of his would greatly surprise the many Americans who may actually have little direct knowledge of working politics and politicians but repeatedly complain about how venal they are.
For instance, in the stable of MSNBC cable's talking news heads is one Dylan Ratigan, who seems almost casually to sprinkle the words "corrupt" and "corruption" among his references to politics.
Well,in the job I used to have I got acquainted in some degree with hundreds of politicians, mostly state and local but also federal. As did Fred Brown.
We watched them listening to lobbyists. Watched them trip off to some very nice parties with lobbyists -- as reporters also did in those days.
But in the end, were votes bought and sold? Were bank accounts created? I don't think so.
Legislators are, variously, smart, dumb, friendly, haughty, patient, brusque, diverse, attractive, ugly and many other things. They listen to lobbyists just as they listen to constituents and editors and countless others who bombard them every day with advice and suggestions. But they aren't bought.
They mostly work hard for spartan pay. I say they do it honorably.