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Tuesday, January 25, 2005
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SpongeBob Squarepants
Josh Marshall: "Spongebob welcomed by United Church of Christ!"
6:30:10 PM 
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Iraqi Election
Confused by the elections in Iraq? Here's a who's who for your edification.
5:58:05 PM
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Columbus Day Protesters
City Attorney, Cole Finegan, dropped charges against the remaining 230 people who blocked the Columbus Day Parade, according to the Denver Post [January 25, 2005, "Cases dropped against Columbus parade protesters"]. From the article, "Finegan said Monday that it was a 'tough' decision but he had to look at the entire picture - including last week's acquittals, three judges saying the city could not use the loitering charge and at least one judge refusing to allow key evidence: the booking photographs of the demonstrators taken at the arrest site. Finegan added, however, that his office has begun work drafting ordinances, modeled on state law, that make it illegal to disrupt a lawful assembly and to obstruct a highway or passageway."
Ed Quillen weighs in on the controversy in his column in today's Denver Post [January 25, 2005, "These are civil rights?"]. He writes, "If the civil rights movement of today is embodied by people who want to deprive other people of their civil rights, then we're in a lot of trouble. Civil rights belong to all of us, not just people who pass muster with Glenn Morris."
Here's the coverage from the Rocky Mountain News [January 25, 2005, "Parade trials fizzle"].
6:43:15 AM
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Social Security
The Denver Post editorial staff thinks that the President's math is a bit fuzzy with regard to Social Security [January 25, 2005, "Critics overstate Social Security ills"]. From the opinion piece, "Social Security does have a long-term problem, but it could be repaired without Bush's radical plan. Congress could raise the age at which younger workers (who are decades from retirement) can collect Social Security, and stop exempting incomes over $90,000 a year from paying Social Security taxes. Both steps would help the program's solvency without plunging Uncle Sam more deeply into debt. The 'debt' to Social Security is a federal obligation, like a U.S. Treasury bond. If the government isn't going to repay Social Security, it couldn't be trusted to honor its other debts, either. Yet investors think there's zero chance the U.S. government will default: Treasury bonds are considered the world's safest investments."
The Rocky Mountain News editorial staff has a different view of Social Security's problems [January 25, 2005, "Private accounts make everyone an investor"]. They write, "Private accounts would make every American, even modest wage earners, an investor - the owner of real, transferable assets that could be passed on to heirs. Workers would have real control over their retirement savings, greater responsibility for those savings and a larger stake in the growth of the economy. Such reform could also help foster a savings culture and boost work incentives. Some opponents of private accounts claim Wall Street will devour much of the investment through administrative fees. But low-cost equity funds abound, and Social Security's chief actuary estimates administrative costs for private accounts would only be about 0.3 percent of the assets managed."
6:38:38 AM
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2004 Presidential Transition
Jim Nicholson's nomination for the secretary of veteran affairs, was approved yesterday by the Senate Veteran's Affairs committee, according to the Denver Post [January 25, 2005, "Coloradan easily wins panel's nod for VA post"]. From the article, "Nicholson, the U.S. ambassador to the Vatican, proved so noncontroversial that he'd barely begun to answer questions before senators on the Veterans Affairs Committee voted unanimously to back him."
Here's the coverage from the Rocky Mountain News [January 25, 2005, "Veterans committee endorses Coloradan"].
Meanwhile, according to the Post, Margaret Spellings should win approval as Secretary of Education today from the Senate [January 25, 2005, "Hold on Spellings' nomination lifted"]. From the article, "The practice of placing holds allows senators to prevent a confirmation vote until they get resolution on an outstanding issue. Lautenberg agreed to lift his hold after a phone conversation with Spellings on Wednesday, according to two of his aides. That should clear the way for the Senate to vote on Spellings' confirmation today. Spellings, Bush's domestic policy chief, had been expected to sail through."
Here's the Rocky's story about the prospects for Wayne Allard's gay marriage ban [January 25, 2005, "Gay marriage ban in struggle"].
6:28:45 AM
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Colorado Water
Metro Denver's water use has dropped to 1969 levels, according to the Denver Post [January 25, 2005, "Water use reflects thirst to conserve"]. From the article, "Denver Water delivered just 59.4 billion gallons last year, 22.6 billion gallons fewer than the utility did before the onset of drought in 2000, new agency numbers show."
6:21:24 AM
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© Copyright 2009 John Orr.
Last update: 3/14/09; 7:17:42 PM.
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