Coyote Gulch

Wednesday, November 24, 2004

MEMRI tries a SLAPP
Juan Cole: "I just checked my campus mail and found a letter in it from Colonel Yigal Carmon, late of Israeli military intelligence, now an official at the Middle East Media Research Organization, or MEMRI. He threatened me with a lawsuit over blog comments I made here at Informed Comment, reprinted at anti-war.com. This technique of the SLAPP or Strategic Lawsuits against Public Participation had already been pioneered by polluting industries against environmental activists, and now the pro-Likud lobby in the US has apparently decided to try it out against people like me."
"I urge all readers to send messages of protest to memri@memri.org. Please be polite, and simply urge MEMRI, which has a major Web presence, to withdraw the lawsuit threat and to respect the spirit of the free sharing of ideas that makes the internet possible."
MEMRI really blasts the professor.
6:31:50 PM

Newspapers Should Really Worry
Wired: "Young people (18-34) just aren't interested in reading newspapers and print magazines."
Coyote Gulch is dazed and confused over this issue. I really like the newspapers. I use their online stuff every day and I also subscribe to the print version. I hope they survive the onslaught.
6:20:07 PM

Denver November 2006 Election
Here's an interesting comment from the Democracy for America website. They write, "Portland's mayoral candidate, Tom Potter, followed the Dean mantra and capped his campaign contributions at $100 in the general election and a mere $25 in the primary. He defeated his big business rival, capturing over 60% of the vote!"
All you local candidates should pay attention to this news. You can start a weblog for little or no dough. You don't need any other web software to create a functional website. Get some inexpensive hosting from someone like Forethought.net. Let your hosting service manage your email list. Make sure you have a way to donate easily online. Keep your events up to date and make sure your RSS 2.0 feed works as it should. Let the html coders customize your theme.
Oh yeah, it'll cost you a two thousand bucks, or so, for a PowerBook.
6:00:03 PM

Denver November 2004 Election
Luis Toro writes, on the 5280 Weblog, "If there is a silver lining for Republicans in Ken Salazar's victory over Peter Coors in the U.S. Senate race, it is that Governor Bill Owens gets to nominate a replacement to finish the remaining two years in Salazar's term as Attorney General. Even that consolation prize is somewhat tarnished, however, because Owens' selection must be confirmed by the Colorado Senate, in which the Democrats now hold a one vote majority."
"One name that has been floated for the AG position is State Sen. Shawn Mitchell of Broomfield. Mitchell, who is best known for his advocacy of bans on adoptions by gay couples and of gay marriage, probably would have been welcomed by the old, GOP-controlled state Senate, but has no serious chance of confirmation by the new one - incoming Senate President Joan Fitz-Gerald (D-Golden) says she told Mitchell Democrats would have 'great difficulty' supporting him. Unless Owens thinks there are points to be scored by having an early battle over gay rights with the legislature, he likely will stay away from Mitchell."
Update: MakesMeRalph has a different take on why governor Owens might want to appoint Shawn Mitchell as Colorado Attorney General.
6:46:12 AM

2004 Presidential Election
The final numbers are in from New Mexico and they show President Bush winning by 5,988 votes. Thanks to Blogs for Bush for the link.
6:42:37 AM

2008 Presidential Election
Bill Richardson, governor of New Mexico, is working to establish a Western Primary for 2008, according to the Western Democrat. They're pointing to this article from HispanicBusiness.com.
Western Democrat: "The Nevada legislature, led by the Democratic majority committee, killed "...(t)he dream of an eight-state Western presidential primary that would attract candidates who would talk about issues important to Nevadans and other Westerners" way back before the 2000 election. Seemingly killed because of budget issues, the real reason the primary went down was because Harry Reid didn't want to hand a big primary day to Bill Bradley and because of opposition from the national party."
6:34:24 AM

Colorado Water
The Denver Post is reporting that 2002 was the worse drought year on record for Colorado [November 24, 2004, "Data: '02 drought a record"]. From the article, "Preliminary results of a study by the U.S. Geological Survey validate what water experts have known for two years: 2002 is firmly entrenched in the record books as the worst drought year in Colorado's history...In fact, almost 61.7 percent of the historical gauge stations were reading all-time low levels. That's compared with only 18 percent of the gauge stations' reading of all-time lows in 1977, another dry year."
The drought may be over for the Front Range according to a report from the Rocky Mountain News [November 24, 2004, "Drought may be fading"]. From the article: "In the past year, stored water supplies have risen to 78 percent of average, up from about 71 percent last year, and streams in each of the state's major river basins are showing improvement for the same time period, according to the Colorado Division of Water Resources; Early snowpack readings, though notoriously fickle, stand at 92 percent of average, according to the Natural Resources Conservation Service; Though some long-term forecasts indicate an equal chance of wet or dry conditions this winter, a new forecast from the Climate Diagnostic Center in Boulder indicates there is a good chance that Colorado may see a wet spring if a weak El Niño weather system continues its current development."
Meanwhile metro area cities are pledging to conserve water, according to the Rocky Mountain News [November 24, 2004, "Cities pledge to rein in water use"]. From the article, "Lafayette, Louisville, Greenwood Village and Castle Rock have promised wise water management, and others, including Denver and Aurora, may join the group, according to the Metro Mayor's Caucus...In 2003, the cities slashed water use about 24 percent, saving some 20.2 billion gallons of water, according to a survey by the Metro Mayor's Caucus." Good idea.
Here's the link to the U.S. Drought Monitor website.
6:09:51 AM

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