Rocky Mountain High

Spend a few days away from the political sphere, and you'll miss a lot.

I was in Denver the last three days for my brother's law school graduation, and spent most of it away from computers and blogs. (Mountains are cooler to look at than computer screens.)

I did read in the Denver Post that Colorado Dems are racing to raise the $55 million dollars needed to fund next summer's National Convention. The early money is the toughest to raise, because . . . it's so early.

But when I got back to my desk and scrolled through dozens of e-mails and articles, I was less surprised than I expected to be. Here's what I got the most mail about:

The Democrats and the editorial pages are panning it, but lawmakers did agree to a modest Medicaid overhaul. Some will get services back, but most won't. Republicans say HealthNet is designed to make people lead healthier lives and become more self-sufficient.

A new law prohibits abortion providers from teaching sex education in schools. "Abortion providers like Planned Parenthood should not be supplying our students with information about sexual health," Governor Blunt said.

Attorney General Jay Nixon sent out a release blasting the legislature for railing to add automated, political robo-calls to the state's Do Not Call List. The Senate passed his bill, but the House never brought the bill to the floor for debate, according to Nixon.

Finally, lawmakers approved a resolution that will give voters another ballot initiative to vote for in 2008. It would require that English be the language of all official proceedings in Missouri. I'm still wondering what proceedings in Missouri are not in English?

Maybe I really didn't miss a lot after all . . .