Remembering Pearl Harbor and the Legacy of John Heisman

On December 7, 2023, Pearl Harbor Day, Kim Monson commemorates the 82nd anniversary of the attack that changed America forever. In the first hour, a pre-recorded interview with Colonel Bill Rutledge, 95-year-old retired U.S. Air Force veteran, tells the remarkable story of John Heisman, the man behind college football’s most prestigious award. The second hour shifts to Colorado’s property tax crisis with Natalie Menten from the TABOR Foundation and Brandon Wark of Free State Colorado.

The Remarkable Life of John Heisman

Start listening at 22:24 – Hour 1

Colonel Bill Rutledge, a 95-year-old retired Air Force Colonel, shares the fascinating history of John Heisman in this pre-recorded interview with Kim and Allen Thomas. Heisman, born in 1869 to German immigrant parents in Cleveland, grew up in Titusville, Pennsylvania, where his father’s barrel-making business thrived during the oil boom. The young Heisman excelled academically, graduating second in his high school class, and went on to attend Brown University before transferring to the University of Pennsylvania for law school.

Despite weighing only 150 pounds, Heisman played center on Penn’s football team during the sport’s formative years when it still resembled rugby. After earning his law degree, Heisman chose coaching over practicing law, pioneering innovations that transformed American football. He invented the center snap, introduced the forward pass, and created the scoreboard. His coaching career spanned multiple universities, compiling over 185 wins with only 70 losses.

“John Heisman, first of all, he was born with, he was one of three brothers. And his parents both were immigrants from Germany. And they came over just before the Civil War. And he was born in 1869 in Cleveland.”

Colonel Bill Rutledge, Retired U.S. Air Force

Colorado’s Property Tax Special Session Failure

Start listening at 76:35 – Hour 2

Natalie Menten, director at the TABOR Foundation, breaks down why Colorado’s recent special legislative session failed to deliver meaningful property tax relief. Despite the session’s stated purpose of addressing massive property tax increases, the Democratic majority quickly killed legislation that would have provided genuine across-the-board relief. Menten argues the session was never intended to help property owners, but rather to protect government revenue streams while appearing responsive to voter anger after Prop HH’s defeat.

The property tax increases affect not just homeowners but renters and consumers who ultimately bear the burden through higher costs. Menten explains that the legislation that did pass, taking money from reserves, paled in comparison to more substantive proposals like Representative Ben Winkle’s bill that offered real relief.

“They did not fail with the special session because those who were in charge of it really had no intent of trying to really produce meaningful relief for the property owners here that we’ll face in January.”

Natalie Menten, Director, TABOR Foundation

Free State Colorado’s Fight for Fiscal Sanity

Start listening at 80:16 – Hour 2

Brandon Wark, founder of Free State Colorado, was present at the Capitol during the special session and witnessed firsthand the legislative theater. Free State Colorado has produced a series of videos explaining the property tax crisis and the political maneuvering that has left Colorado taxpayers facing January 2024 tax bills reflecting massive valuation increases.

Wark and his organization have worked to educate Coloradans about TABOR protections and how legislators have systematically undermined taxpayer rights. The special session represented another example of the state’s Democratic leadership prioritizing government spending over the financial wellbeing of citizens already struggling with inflation.

“That bill would have served the purpose of the special session, providing meaningful relief across the board, plain, simple, clean cut. And it was rapidly killed by the majority that are in control down at the state capitol.”

Brandon Wark, Founder, Free State Colorado