Colorado Schools Closed Due to Hot Weather

Denver Public Schools has announced that several of their schools will be closed, on Friday.

Poudre School District has announced that all of their schools will be closed.

Hot weather brought about the decision.

Thursday already was an option school day for Denver.

Several of their buildings and all of the Poudre District's buildings are without air conditioning.

Afternoon temperatures were reading in the mid to high nineties inside the classrooms.

Both districts felt that for the safety of their students they should not have class in such temperatures.

Instead of completely closing, some of the Denver schools will be having half days, allowing students to be gone by the time the afternoon heat comes.

Protesters Demand Montana Judge Resign

Hundreds of protesters gathered in Yellowstone County Courthouse in Billings, Montana, on Thursday.

They are demanding that District Judge G. Todd Baugh resign after he sentenced a teacher who raped a student to just thirty days in jail.

Protesters are also demanding that the former teacher be resentenced.

Attorney General Tim Fox is reportedly reviewing the situation.

US Government Won't Sue Colorado and Washington Over Legalized Weed

On Thursday, US Attorney General Eric Holder announced that the federal government will not be suing states over their legalization of weed.

Last year, both Colorado and Washington voted to legalize marijuana, despite it being banned by the federal government.

Holder issued new guidelines and emphasized things that he and the Obama administration want to see worked on.

He did say that the government will look at suing if the states are unable to match federal expectations on the regulation of the drug.

Bus Crash Kills 41 in Kenya

Forty-one people were killed early Thursday morning, in a bus accident, in Kenya.

Twenty-seven others were injured as the bus was traveling from Nairobi to Lake Victoria.

The bus lost control, went off the road, and flipped several times as it went down a hill before coming to a stop in a valley.

Police are trying to determine what caused the bus to veer off the road.

They believe that the bus may have been traveling at excessive speeds and stated that it was definitely over loaded.

Western Nations Lean Away From Syria Attack

Prime Minister Cameron at Parliament

A western attack on Syria has at least been delayed, if not put off completely.

Britain's Parliament voted by thirteen votes not to have military action against Syria. Prime Minister Cameron does not require Parliament to vote, before going to war, but without their backing he would likely lose his government.

Within hours of the British vote, France announced that they would be waiting for the UN to come to a conclusive decision on the matter. However, both countries continue to move military assets into position, in case a strike is ordered.

The UN is waiting for the inspectors to finish their investigation and then return to give their findings to the Security Council. Such a presentation might not take place until late next week.

Bolstered by Britain and France backing down, Russia and Iran reiterated that they will standby their Syrian ally. Towards this, Russia continued moving naval forces into the Mediterranean.

By Thursday evening, the US had backed down from their stance of complete surety that Assad was behind the deadly chemical attack, which killed around a thousand Syrians. Now the US says that Assad may not have been behind the attack, that a local commander could have made the decision on his own.

2 Car Bombings Kill 24 in Baghdad

Twenty-four people were killed in two car bombings in different areas of Baghdad, on Thursday.

A truck bomb stuck a market, in the Sunni neighborhood of Samarra, killing eighteen and wounding thirty-two.

Six people were killed and fifteen injured when a car bomb struck in Abu Gharib.

No one claimed responsibility for either attack.

Over four thousand people have now been killed in Iraq, since April.

Project Red Leaf: Growing Conservative Voters on US College Campuses

Project Red Leaf’s objective is to grow a conservative voter base on college campuses across the United States. It is based on the belief that increasing the number of registered conservative voters on college campuses will positively impact local, state, and national elections, giving conservatives a better chance of winning or retaining seats.

Project Red Leaf (PRL) is a national network of certified Third Party Voter Registration Organization’s (3PVRO’s). For example, Project Red Leaf – University of Tampa is a 3PVRO registered in the State of Florida (ID#13-1). So, PRL has been legally approved and is acknowledged by the state’s Supervisor of Elections. This is what provides the permission needed to register people to vote in local, state, and federal elections.

PRL’s motto is: “One student at a time will make all the difference.” The organization continues its work with college conservative groups and College Republican organizations, which allows for the leveraging of national resources. The project follows a two-step process:

1) The college conservative / College Republican organization participates in local activities to promote conservatism.

2) After receiving an education on the key differences between conservatism and liberalism, they are urged to register to vote.

A movement like PRL is needed because:

• During his political campaigns, Barack Obama was on college campuses 1 out of every 10 days.
• Liberal students dominate college campuses at a ratio greater than 2:1.
• The Millennial Generation makes up about 1/5 of the electorate. By 2015, they will account for 1/3.
• Overall, 28% of young voters identify as Republicans, with 30% of young men categorizing themselves as Republican, compared with 26% of young women.
• The majority of young voters identify themselves as Democrat (47%), with 55% of young women classified as Democrats, compared to 38% of men.

Project Red Leaf is busy at work, attempting to become the largest national, conservative voter registration organization. Traditionally a bastion of liberal politics, PRL aims to take a chunk of the college campus electorate by increasing conservative voter registration year-round.

So, how does Project Red Leaf work? PRL works in conjunction with conservative groups on any given campus. Once affiliation is made between PRL and the campus organization, the organization appoints a Campus Director who works closely with PRL. This individual is the liaison between the organization and Project Red Leaf’s national team. Depending on the university, it is recommended that a minimum of 1-4 hours per month be dedicated to registering individuals to vote.

PRL, though still only in its first year, is currently established on 8 campuses. Already making an impact, at the University of Tampa, with PRL’s assistance, there was an almost 50% increase in student votes, from 2008 to 2012, for Republican candidates. I asked PRL president and co-founder, John Publicover, how many college campuses the organization plans to have expanded to by election time in 2014 and 2016. He estimates approximately 40 campuses by the 2014 election and 100 by 2016.

Publicover, originally from New Hampshire, is a student at the University of Tampa and began working on Project Red Leaf during the 2012 general election when he was helping to organize voter registration efforts in Tampa Bay. Now a sophomore, he reflects on the fact that his parents encouraged him to develop his own political viewpoints independent of theirs. His enthusiastic embrace of conservative politics was just the momentum needed to propel Publicover to take his passion to a national level, developing Project Red Leaf.

If you are interested in learning more about Project Red Leaf or would like to pass this information on to a college student or college campus, please visit the website at ProjectRedLeaf.com. A representative from PRL will assist the school with voter registration. Alternatively, you can reach the organization by phone at (813) 501-LEAF or send me an email to John@ProjectRedLeaf.com.
You can also fill out the form at this link. To help PRL get the word out, follow them on Twitter and Like them on Facebook.

US Army: First Lieutenant Jason Togi

First Lieutenant Jason Togi, twenty-four of Pago Pago, American Samoa, died on August 26.

He was killed when his vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device, in Hasan Karez, Afghanistan.

Togi was assigned to the 2nd Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division out of Fort Hood, Texas.