Coyote Gulch

Tuesday, April 27, 2004

Colorado Water
MakesMeRalph: "Colorado's state motto is 'Whiskey's for Drinkin', Water's for Fightin' Over.'" Water issues are making the 3rd Congressional election a bit heated, according to the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel.
I used to work for Tenneco oil back in the 80's. If my memory serves me, the first time I saw an issue of the Sentinel it had a front page picture of one of Tenneco's drilling rigs burning up.
7:52:23 PM

2004 Presidential Election
The Denver Post is running a story (from the NY Times) about the rancor rising in the presidential election [April 27, 2004, "Kerry-Cheney exchange signals sharper attacks"]. From the article, "Later in the day, Kerry challenged what he called attacks on his military record from Republicans who did not fight in Vietnam...The vice president drew snickers from the invited audience, which was heavily Republican, as he read quotations from Kerry intended to portray the senator as equivocating on major issues of national security...While Kerry and Cheney went after each other with a vigor that made it hard to believe Election Day was still 27 weeks away, the president sought to sail above it all, a course that Bush's aides said they hoped he would take freely, with Cheney's help. Bush headed to another swing state, Minnesota, to deliver a speech on technological innovation to an association of community colleges."
Josh Marshall points to a Salon article about President Bush's military record while Blogs for Bush tells us that John Kerry's website has been changing in the face of criticism.
Some Colorado scientists are questioning the President's stand on stem cell research, according to the Rocky Mountain News [April 27, 2004, "Scientists wary of Bush politics"]. From the article, "Freed said Bush's stand on stem cells is hampering research into Parkinson's disease and other neurological disorders. Stem cell lines isolated from an embryo can be maintained in a tissue culture dish for many generations. Under appropriate conditions, the stem cells can differentiate into several different tissue types - such as bone or brain - which makes them so prized by scientists. All of the established lines approved by Bush were grown on layers of mouse cells. That's problematic, Freed said, because the possibility that human and mouse cells might be mixed raises problems for any treatment that might be developed from the lines. A Harvard professor has developed 17 stem cell lines, with no help from mouse cells, but with financial help from the private Howard Hughes Foundation, said Freed, who is division head in clinical pharmacology at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. Bush opposes the expansion of stem cell research because the cells often come from aborted fetuses. Bush opposes abortions, and fears that women will be more likely to opt for them if they think they might be advancing the cause of science. Anti-abortion groups strongly support Bush's opposition to research that abets the killing of unborn fetuses."
Update: Wired: "But just because the Japanese mouse was created using a technique previously considered infeasible in mammals doesn't mean it escapes President Bush's stem cell policy. Researchers are not allowed to use federal funds to destroy or work with stem cells obtained through this method, called parthenogenesis, which is Greek for 'virgin birth.'"
Update: President Bush and John Kerry are in a dead heat in New Mexico, 47 to 47 according to MakesMeRalph.
Update: Talk about a left-handed compliment. Thanks to Taegan Goddard for the link.
Update: A new Pew Research Center national poll shows President Bush's approval rating rising. From the article, "The latest nationwide survey by the Pew Research Center finds 48% approving and 43% disapproving of Bush's overall job performance. This is slightly better than the 43% rating he received in early April, conducted in the days immediately following the murder and mutilation of American contractors in Falluja."
Update: Taegan Goddard: "President Bush and Sen. John Kerry 'are deadlocked 42% to 42% in a test election among Pennsylvania registered voters,' according to the latest IssuesPA/Pew Poll. Ralph Nader attracts 5% of voters and 11% 'are undecided or prefer someone else.'"
Update: Mountain Kodiak: "I'm just glad that I'm not growing up in this faux-America of today, and I feel for parents trying to teach their kids that self-expression is a good thing, and no, fearing your government is not historically an American value."
5:56:21 AM

Denver November 2004 Election
A recent Rocky Mountain News/News 4 poll shows Attorney General, Ken Salazar, leading both Peter Coors and Bob Schaffer [April 27, 2004, "Poll has Salazar on top"]. From the article, "The poll of 600 registered voters conducted last week showed Salazar besting Schaffer 48-37 percent, or by 11 percentage points. He topped Coors 52-36 percent, or by 16 percentage points. The poll's margin of error is plus or minus 4 percentage points...Salazar fared well against both of his opponents nearly across the board. However, an analysis of the poll results found Schaffer posting a good showing in the plains - his old congressional district, said Weigel. He topped Salazar 52-36 percent among those responding. Salazar fared better among women, partly because of the support of Republican women polled, said Weigel. Women preferred Salazar to Schaffer 50-32 percent, and Salazar to Coors 55-30 percent. The margins were slimmer among men polled; Salazar over Schaffer 46-42 percent, and Salazar over Coors, 49-43 percent. Coors fared best among men under 45, who preferred him to Salazar, 51-40 percent. They preferred Schaffer to Salazar, 47-36 percent. Men older than 45 preferred Salazar."
A proposal to raise the cigarette tax, slated to go before voters in November, is gaining support, according to the Rocky Mountain News [April 27, 2004, "Tobacco tax plan gets early support"]. From the article, "The group's ballot measure would hike the 20-cent tax on cigarettes by 64 cents and increase the tax on other tobacco products by 20 percent, raising $175 million a year. The proceeds would be used to expand health insurance for children, increase funding to community clinics and provide money for tobacco-cessation programs."
Ed Quillen weighs in on the separation of church and state and Archbishop Chaput's position on Catholic politicians in his column in today's Denver Post [April 27, 2004, "No place for political guidance"]. Says Quillen, "When we normal citizens get into the voting booth, we don't pay much attention to clerics. After all, getting political guidance from a minister makes about as much sense as seeking moral guidance from a politician."
5:27:13 AM

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