Coyote Gulch

Tuesday, August 24, 2004

Colorado Water
The drought is not over according to the Rocky Mountain News [August 24, 20004, "Beyond a shadow of a ... drought"]. From the article, "A state lawmaker who has led the fight for more water storage in Colorado says Front Range residents should not be misled into believing the drought is over because of recent heavy rains. Rep. Diane Hoppe, R-Sterling, just back from a legislative water trip through western Colorado, said on Friday that many areas are still suffering and drought conditions could return to Denver. Hoppe found it ironic that while her Legislative Water Resources Review Committee was viewing drought-stricken areas of the state on Wednesday, it watched television news shots of flood-stricken sections of the Denver area."
6:22:36 AM

Denver November 2004 Election
Denver voters will have an opportunity to vote, this November, on a charter change establishing an oversight committee for the Police Department, according to the Rocky Mountain News [August 24, "Cop plan advances"]. From the article, "Mayor John Hickenlooper's unprecedented plan for civilian oversight of the Denver Police Department is expected to go before voters in November as the City Council gave its preliminary blessing late Monday despite broad public outcry that the plan won't lead to lasting, meaningful change. Council voted 11-2 to approve a measure on first reading that would place the mayor's proposal as written on the Nov. 2 ballot, leaving it up to voters to decide the politically divisive issue. The council will vote whether to give its final approval Monday...Hickenlooper has proposed a three-pronged approach to civilian oversight. The cornerstone of the plan calls for forming the Office of the Independent Monitor at an estimated cost of nearly $500,000. The monitor, modeled after a similar office in San Jose, Calif., would have unprecedented access to statements and information surrounding investigations involving excessive force and alleged police misconduct. Other key components include appointing a civilian oversight board and a citizen pool, whose members would serve on different police review boards. The overall aim is to make the police department's internal investigation process more transparent by injecting civilian oversight at every step."
6:17:23 AM

2004 Presidential Election
Here's a story from the Denver Post about Jim Russell, the Vietnam war veteran that has spoken out in defense of Senator John Kerry [August 24, 2004, "Colo. vet vouches for Kerry"]. From the article, "A Colorado naval veteran who served with John Kerry in Vietnam and said he witnessed the firefight that earned Kerry the Bronze Star and Purple Heart said Monday that the Democratic presidential nominee deserved his medals. Jim Russell, a former Navy lieutenant now living in Telluride, said he was on the No. 43 Swift boat near the one under Kerry's command on March 13, 1969. He said he watched Kerry pull a crewmate from the Bay Hap River in Viet Cong-controlled territory." Here's the coverage from the Rocky Mountain News [August 24, 2004, "Ads anger Colorado vet"].
Taegan Goddard: "Here are the latest state polls: Florida - Bush 45%, Kerry 45% (Gallup); Virginia - Bush 49%, Kerry 45% (Survey USA); Arkansas - Bush 47%, Kerry 46% (Survey USA); Texas - Bush 58%, Kerry 37% (Survey USA)."
Electoral-vote.com: "Big news today. Zogby has released polls in 16 battleground states. As usual, it is possible to find some good news for each side. For Bush, the good news is that he is ahead in Ohio by about twice the margin of error. Ohio is an absolutely must-win state for him. If he loses Ohio, it is almost certainly back to the ranch for him. But he is now ahead there 51% to 46% with a MoE of 2.6%. He also has a solid 8% lead in West Virgina, despite the job losses there. Two very welcome pieces of news. The problem is that all the rest of the news is bad. Kerry is ahead in the other 14 states, sometimes only by a hair, but still ahead. Kerry is even statistically tied in Arkansas, Tennessee, and Virginia. That is not supposed to happen. If Bush has to fight for the northern South, it will drain money away from Ohio, Florida, and Missouri. The Zogby poll for Missouri puts Kerry at 49.3% and Bush at 48.8%, but since I am not keeping track of tenths of a percent, I'll call that a tie. Close enough for government work. Polls from other pollsters in Arkansas, Illinois, Texas, and Virginia don't change much. It looks like Bush is going into the RNC far behind. Zogby puts the score in the electoral college at 324 for Kerry and 214 for Bush, even worse than EVP's score. But next week belongs to George Bush."
Senator John Edwards will make an appearance in the Denver area on Thursday, drumming up support from independent and Republican voters, according to the Rocky Mountain News [August 24, 2004, "Edwards is courting a unique audience"]. From the article, "Tickets to see vice presidential candidate John Edwards on Thursday are free and available on a limited basis from Women for Kerry members, several local Democratic Party branches and Kerry's Colorado headquarters, 333 W. Colfax Ave."
Update: Preemtive Karma: "French signed an affidavit declaring that he knows Kerry is lying about his record in Vietnam. French also appeared on the Swift Boat ad declaring Kerry lied about what happened. French later admitted that he had no firsthand knowledge of Kerry's actions and was relying on stories from friends." Thanks to TalkLeft for the link.
Update: A new Gallup poll for Florida has President Bush leading Senator Kerry 48% to 47% amongt likely voters and a dead heat at 46% amongst registered voters. Thanks to the Daily Kos for the link.
Update: Josh Marshall: "Oh, that's beautiful. The Bush campaign and Swift Boat Veterans for Truth have so little in common that they share an election lawyer -- Florida recount veteran, Benjamin Ginsberg. He must be over there to enforce President Bush's well-known opposition to 527s."
5:59:48 AM

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