RtB News & Opinion

Topic of the Week: The Two-Party System: America's Political Duopoly Dear Restore the Balance Community, The two-party system in American politics often leaves us with a choice between two "bad" choices. It leaves many of us voting "against" someone rather than "for" someone. So why do we belong to parties in the first place? Perhaps nearly everyone you know is a member of the same party. Humans do tend to self-sort into tribes. And it is a phenomenon that plays well into the

We're kicking off this week with a little inspiration. As we explore the right to protest and peaceful assembly, who better to turn to than one of history's greatest champions of both, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Take a moment to watch these 7 Inspiring Martin Luther King Jr. Quotes to Live By and let his words set the tone for this week's conversation.  Topic of the Week: The Right to Protest Dear Restore the Balance Community, Last week, we focused on finding some common gr

Before we dive in, take 4 minutes to watch this. Heineken's "Open Your World" ad is a brilliant reminder that what we have in common is almost always greater than what divides us. Watch here!   Dear Restore the Balance Community, This week, we're taking a step back from the headlines to look at something worth celebrating: a nationwide surge in civic engagement, and what it means for communities like ours right here in Western Colorado. Topic of the Week: The Rise of Civic E

Rocky Mountain Columbines Dear Restore the Balance Community, Last week, we focused on the caucus and how to get involved in the party process. This week, we're looking at a piece of federal legislation that could affect whether millions of Americans are able to vote at all: the SAVE America Act. Topic of the Week: The SAVE Act & Your Right to Vote First, a baseline fact: there is no credible evidence of widespread voter fraud in U.S. elections, including the 2020 presidentia

Topic of the Week: The 2026 Caucus — Your 24 Hours to Shape Democracy "We do not have government by the majority. We have government by the majority who participate." — Thomas Jefferson A Word from RTB Board Member Ivan Geer "I believe that most Americans are independent at their core. Yet the political process will always involve parties by its nature; parties ultimately present our choices, which results in independents voting for candidates presented by parties. Many of us

Sunrise in Palisade Topic of the Week: Efforts to Interfere with the Midterm Elections Unfortunately, this may be the first in an ongoing series, but for this week, we want to lay out the facts we know so far in the multiple attempts to interfere with the 2026 midterms. Aside from the ever-repeated narrative that the 2020 elections were stolen, there has been a constant stream of behavior that should cause concern. In the summer of 2025, Jeff Small, former Chief of Staff to L

The Rural/Urban Divide The photo above is perhaps a better representation of the urban/wildland interface rather than the rural/urban divide in our politics, but this ram got us thinking. He's not really sure where he belongs; something that may mirror where many of us feel regarding our politics. What's an urban value? What's a rural value? Is there overlap? Topic of the Week: Understanding the Rural/Urban Divide In 2025, RTB had the pleasure to work with Katie Kleinhesselin

What do these sticks and NATO have in common? This photo reminds us of the moral of the famous Aesop's fable. A father has three quarrelsome sons, and he gives them a bundle of sticks to try to break; none can do it. But if the bundle is broken apart, the sons easily break them one by one. "My Sons," said the Father, "do you not see how certain it is that if you agree with each other and help each other, it will be impossible for your enemies to injure you? But if you are div

A Redlands Rainbow Photo credit: Christina Schultz   Topic of the Week: This Judge Has Had Enough "The court's patience has run out." So wrote District Judge Patrick J. Schiltz recently in an order demanding that the Director of ICE appear in his courtroom to explain why scores of people arrested had been held without the right to challenge their detentions. He had previously criticized and challenged the Department of Justice over "frivolous" demands from the DOJ to issue ar