Parental Rights Under Siege and the CO2 Pipeline Power Grab

On April 5, 2023, Kim Monson exposes coordinated attacks on individual liberty from multiple fronts. Lori Gimelshteyn of Colorado Parents Advocacy Network reveals how HB 23-1003 would allow the state to conduct mental health screenings on children as young as 12 without parental knowledge or consent. Sue Moore of Liberty Scorecard breaks down the worst bills of the legislative session, and Trent Loos exposes how CO2 pipeline projects are using eminent domain to seize control of valuable resources.

Rating Colorado Legislators on Liberty Principles

Start listening at 30:58 – Hour 1

Colorado Liberty Republicans founder Sue Moore joins Kim to discuss how her organization tracks and scores every bill in the Colorado legislature through the lens of free markets, individual rights, and limited government. With 594 bills already introduced and four and a half weeks remaining in the session, legislators are on pace to set a record.

Moore and her team of dedicated volunteers read every bill, apply a series of questions about how each affects freedom, property rights, and fiscal responsibility, then assign support or oppose positions. The resulting scorecard at LibertyScoreCardCO.us allows citizens to see how their representatives are voting on liberty issues. Moore notes that feedback from legislators seeking to improve their scores demonstrates the accountability tool is working.

“A lot of these are written by lobbying groups, and a lot of them are written by attorneys within these lobbying groups. And they’ve got an agenda. They’ve got something they’re trying to do to Colorado, and they’ll find a friendly ear and then they’ll run these bills.”

Sue Moore, Founder, Liberty Scorecard Colorado

Moore identifies the three worst bills of the session: HB 1003 on school mental health assessments, SB 213 on centralized land use planning, and SB 184 on tenant protections that would devastate the rental market by prohibiting landlords from asking about income, credit, or rental history. She also highlights bright spots including SB 108 on temporary property tax reductions and SB 252 on medical price transparency.

CO2 Pipelines and the Eminent Domain Power Play

Start listening at 74:15 – Hour 2

Sixth-generation farmer and rancher Trent Loos returns to expose the true motivations behind CO2 pipeline projects sweeping across the Midwest. Rather than accepting the narrative that burying CO2 is necessary for environmental protection, Loos argues this is about powerful interests monopolizing a valuable commodity. He notes that CO2 has 15 current commercial uses, with prices skyrocketing from 17 cents to 70 cents per pound in just six months.

Loos details how eminent domain is being weaponized to push these pipelines through. He recounts recent events in Iowa where a bill to eliminate eminent domain for CO2 pipelines passed the House but was mysteriously killed in the Senate after the Commerce Committee chairman suddenly stepped down, replaced by a former ambassador to China whose law firm represents a carbon capture company. The pattern reveals coordinated efforts to use government power for private gain.

“Because when people are hungry, you can control them.”

Trent Loos, Sixth-Generation Farmer and Rancher

Loos connects the CO2 pipeline push to broader concerns about food supply control, noting that one in three pigs produced in the United States is owned by Smithfield Foods, which is controlled by WH Group from Hong Kong. He warns about conservation easements that stay with property permanently and could be purchased by foreign entities. Coal-fired power plants, he argues, have dramatically reduced emissions but are being targeted not for environmental reasons but to control the electricity supply.

The Fight Against Government Control of Children’s Mental Health

Start listening at 17:16 – Hour 1

In this segment, Lori Gimelshteyn, co-founder of Colorado Parents Advocacy Network, joins Kim to discuss the dangers lurking within House Bill 23-1003. While the bill is marketed as addressing youth mental health concerns, Gimelshteyn reveals troubling provisions that would fundamentally undermine parental authority. The bill allows children as young as 12 to override their parents’ opt-out decisions for mental health screenings conducted in public schools.

Gimelshteyn explains that the language was strategically changed from “assessment” to “screening” to confuse the public, but the substance remains the same. The screenings would push children into the I Matter Colorado program, which provides six therapy sessions without parental consent or knowledge. Even more concerning, the bill mandates “trauma-informed” approaches, which Gimelshteyn identifies as a new alert phrase similar to DEI that treats all children as if they have trauma based on concepts like unconscious racial and gender biases.

“This is literally going to give the government the power to make decisions about our kids’ mental health without parent consent or knowledge.”

Lori Gimelshteyn, Co-founder, Colorado Parents Advocacy Network

Gimelshteyn announces a rally scheduled for April 6th at the West Steps of the Colorado State Capitol from 10 AM to noon, with the bill being heard in Senate committee at 1:30 PM. She urges listeners to visit ColoradoParents.org to register for testimony and send written opposition to senators on the Health and Human Services Committee.