Scheduled Speakers

Jordan Clark — Counterterrorism Education Learning Lab (CELL)

http://www.thecell.org/

The Counterterrorism Education Learning Lab (CELL) is dedicated to the prevention of terrorism through education, empowerment and engagement. As a nonprofit, nonpartisan institution, its one-of-a-kind exhibit, renowned speaker series and training initiatives provide a comprehensive look at the threat of terrorism and how individuals can play a role in the prevention of terrorism, ultimately enhancing public safety.

 

01/30 Sen. David Balmer

http://davidbalmer.com/

http://www.leg.state.co.us/CLICS/CLICS2013A/directory.nsf/MemberDetailPage?OpenForm&district=27&chamber=senate

Rob Natelson — Article V

Rob Natelson will be speaking about Article V of the Constitution which defines the method by which the States can apply for an convention for the purpose of proposing Amendment(s) to the constitution. This is done without the participation of Congress. He is a national treasure and Colorado is fortunate to have access to his knowledge and instruction. Invite your friends who may be interested in a topic that will soon be in the national conversation.

Robert G. Natelson is one of America’s best-known constitutional scholars. He recently co-authored two Independence Institute legal briefs that apparently were sources for the Supreme Court’s Medicaid and “Necessary and Proper” holdings in the “Obamacare” case.

Rob was a law professor for 25 years, 23 of them at the University of Montana, where he taught Constitutional Law, Advanced Constitutional Law, Constitutional History, First Amendment, and other subjects. He also became a recognized national expert on the framing and adoption of the United States Constitution. Rob pioneered the use of source material, such as colonial pamphlets and important Founding-Era law books, overlooked by other writers. He has been the first to uncover key facts about some of the most significant parts of the Constitution.

Rob has written for some of the most prestigious academic publishers, including Cambridge University Press, the Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy, and Texas Law Review. (See list of publications below). In addition to his discoveries in U.S. Constitutional law, he has achieved other significant “firsts:”

• His webpage, The Scholarship of the Original Understanding of the Constitution (now partly duplicated here) was the first online guide to “originalist” research.
• For the University of Montana, he created the Documentary History of the Ratification of the Montana Constitution, the first organized collection (either on-line or in print) of materials explaining the 1972 Montana Constitution to the ratifiers just before they voted on it.
• In conjunction with his eldest daughter Rebecca, he edited and posted the first complete Internet versions of the Emperor Justinian’s great Roman law collection (in Latin).

There are several keys to Rob’s success as a scholar. Unlike most constitutional writers, he has academic training not merely in law or in history, but in both, as well as in the Latin classics that were the mainstay of Founding-Era education. He works hard to keep his historical investigations objective. Most critical, however, have been lessons and habits learned in the “real world:” Before his academic career began, Rob practiced law in two states, ran two separate businesses, and served as a regular real estate law columnist for the Rocky Mountain News. Later, he created and hosted Montana’s first statewide commercial radio talk show and became Montana’s best known political activist — leading, among other campaigns — the most successful petition referendum drive in the history of the state. He also helped push through several important pieces of Montana legislation, and in June 2000, was the runner-up among five candidates in the party primaries for Governor of Montana. For recreation, Rob spends time in the great outdoors, where he particularly enjoys hiking and skiing with his wife and three daughters.

2013 Annual Meeting

Come join us to elect a new president and talk about the future of the club.

Mark Hillman, Colorado Lawsuite Abuse Watch.

MarkHillman

http://www.gjchamber.org/forms/MarkHillman.pdf
http://www.co-law.org/

Background

Colorado Lawsuit Abuse Watch (CO-LAW.org) is a project of the Colorado Civil Justice League. CO-LAW

and CCJL are devoted to reining in lawsuit abuse and fighting for personal responsibility.

In the last 10 years, the number of lawsuits filed in Colorado has tripled.

Frivolous lawsuits hurt everyone. They increase the cost of everything Colorado families purchase. They

suppress wages paid to Colorado workers. They waste time, increase stress, and hamper innovation and

productivity at Colorado businesses.

Frivolous lawsuits hurt our economy, harm our families and threaten our future.

52,000 lawsuits are filed each day in the U.S.

83% of small business owners say the lawsuit system doesn’t work well because lawyers clog the courts

with lawsuits and real victims have to wait for justice.

Less than 45 cents of every dollar spent on lawsuits actually goes to compensate injured victims.

93% of small business owners say frivolous lawsuits are serious problem.

The cost to an employer of defending a wrongful-termination or discrimination lawsuit can be $25,000

to $50,000 without a trial – and more than $100,000 if the case goes to trial.

One in three business owners say they have been sued or threatened with a lawsuit recently.

Businesses have no choice but to pass along these costs to consumers, through higher prices, or to

workers, through lower wages.

Mark Hillman, executive director of CCJL, is a former Colorado State Treasurer and majority leader of

the Colorado Senate. While serving in the state senate, he was recognized for his leadership in fighting

against abusive lawsuits by being named National Legislator of the Year by the conservative American

Legislative Exchange Council and receiving the Common Sense in the Courtroom award from Colorado

Civil Justice League.

01/02 Happy New Year!

Ring in the New Year at the first Men’s Club meeting of 2013.

02/06 — Sec. of State Scott Gessler

Scott Gessler is Colorado’s 37th Secretary of State.  He was elected on November 2, 2010, and sworn into office on January 11, 2011.

A successful small businessman and election law attorney, Mr. Gessler serves as the chief executive of The Department of State. The Secretary of State’s office collects, secures, and makes accessible a wide variety of public records; it ensures the integrity of elections; and it enhances commerce. Previously, Mr. Gessler was a partner at Hackstaff Gessler LLC, where he focused on election law, constitutional law, public policy litigation, campaign finance, and commercial litigation. He has also served at the U.S. Department of Justice as a Trial Attorney, focusing on international criminal law and terrorism. He served as an Army Reservist as well.

Gessler received his undergraduate degree from Yale, law degree from University of Michigan, and MBA from Northwestern University. Prior to his election, Mr. Gessler served on bipartisan election boards and commissions, including the Election Reform Commission that made recommendations to the General Assembly following the 2008 elections. He has taught election law at the University of Colorado law school and has been widely recognized for his work in election law.

Mr. Gessler resides in Denver with his wife Kristi and their daughter Sofia.

Merry Christmas! No meeting Dec. 26

01/23 — Rep. Kathleen Conti

http://www.facebook.com/people/Kathleen-Conti/100000576635939

http://www.contiforcolorado.com/

http://www.state.co.us/gov_dir/leg_dir/house/members/hou38.htm

01/09 Derrick Wilburn — Rocky Mountain Black Conservatives

Derrick is the founder, President and Chairman of the Board of the Rocky Mountain Black Conservatives, American Conservatives of Color, and BlackandConservative.com. His organization’s and personal mission are to bridge the gap that has traditionally existed between conservative political causes and parties and the minority communities in the USA. Through local meetings, film and radio programs, on-the-ground efforts, writing and social media his organizations are delivering the message of conservatism to ethnic minorities, and the message of the need to bring that message to minority communities to conservative groups. An accomplished motivational speaker, Derrick has delivers powerful messages to political and community action groups across the nation.