Monday, April 25, 2005

You can't make this stuff up MakesMeRalph: "The Frozen Dead Guy Festival in Nederland may be shut down. The frozen dead guy's grandson is asking them to close it down. The festival was originally designed to pay for the dry ice to keep the dead guy frozen after his grandson was deported. This year, however, the frozen dead guy's daughter got drunk and assaulted a city official." 6:32:46 PM

66% Oppose Nuclear Option Daily Kos: "Would you support or oppose changing the Senate rules to make it easier for the Republicans to confirm Bush's judicial nominees? Support - 26%. Oppose - 66%. Category: 2004 Presidential Transition 6:28:19 PM

Denver Justice Center Seeks and Finds Solution - Urban Land Institute Here's an article in support of the new Justice Center from the Urban Land Institute. They write, "The acquisition of the RMN (Rocky Mountain News) site led the new mayor, John Hickenlooper, to seek an independent review of the two proposed solutions." 6:20:11 PM

Justice Center Supporters of the new Justice Center rallied at the state capital yesterday, according to the Rocky Mountain News [April 25, 2005, "Salazar backs justice center"]. From the article, "Construction of the Justice Center would be paid for from funds that are freed up as existing bonds on other projects are repaid, meaning that a property owner will detect no increase in his current tax rate. Opponents say the city is trying to disguise a tax increase. Hickenlooper said the proposal will not increase taxes and argued that it would save people money to have a justice center downtown instead of having to spend time and money traveling to the jail on Smith Road. He said the Justice Center also will provide better safety for officials, police and the public. 'If you don't do something, we will have a serious incident,' Hickenlooper said." Here's the coverage from the Denver Post [April 25, 2005, "Salazar joins new-jail posse"]. Category: Denver May 2005 Election 6:03:01 AM

Colorado Secretary of State and Governor The Rocky is running a short article about the race for Colorado Secretary of State in 2006 [April 25, 2005, "Secretary of state race an open field"]. They mention several people but here is their shortlist: Scott Doyle - The GOP clerk and recorder brought vote centers to Larimer County; Joe Stengel - The House minority leader has expressed some interest; Ken Gordon - The Democratic senator wants to wait and see how the 2005 election pans out. Here's the link to DraftHick.com. Thanks to a Curious Stranger for the link. Colorado Pols has a post up on the governor's race. Category: Denver November 2006 Election 5:59:47 AM

Filibusters and Bolton Here's a summary of Justice Sunday from the Rocky Mountain News [April 25, 2005, "Pulpit, politics mix"]. From the article, "Conservative activists made no apologies for mixing religion and politics here (Louisville, KY) Sunday, as they used somber prayers and passionate statements to rally the faithful against U.S. Senate filibuster rules." Here's another story about Bill Frist's participation in Justice Sunday from the AP via the Rocky Mountain News [April 25, 2005, "Frist hardens effort to stop filibusters"]. From the article, Majority Leader Bill Frist said Sunday it was not 'radical' to ask senators to vote on judicial nominees as he hardened his effort to strip Democrats of their power to stall President Bush's picks for the federal court. Frist, speaking at an event organized by Christian groups trying to rally churchgoers to support an end to judicial filibusters, also said judges deserve 'respect, not retaliation,' no matter how they rule. A potential candidate for the White House in 2008, the Tennessee Republican made no overt mention of religion in the brief address, according to his videotaped remarks played on giant television screens to an audience estimated at 1,700 in Louisville, Ky." Blogs for Bush: "We have the votes." Moderate Voice: "One question asked here is asked again: is there ANY ISSUE that this administration is willing to handle in a way that involves consensus? Or is every decision about power politics and votes?" Here's a short background article from the U.S. Senate website. Stygius: "A 'Confirm Bolton' blog." Stygius: "The delayed vote on John Bolton's UN nomination has definitely raised its profile in the media. AP's Anne Gearan has a mid-collapse analysis on the political stakes involved. Joining Republican Senators George Voinovich, Chuck Hagel, and Lincoln Chafee in their public reservations about Bolton, Alaska's Lisa Murkowski now feels comfortable standing up as well, even though she was expressing support on April 8. Also, Newsweek has finally begun wading into the story with some zest, and two recent stories --after being nationally read-- are two very big nails for this political coffin. The first was Isikoff and Hosenball's piece on former Amb. Thomas Hubbard's interview with the committee, which raises the possibility of Bolton perjuring himself. In a newish development, Laura Rozen points us to another Newsweek kidney punch reporting that in 2003 Britain had formally asked that Bolton be pulled from the Libya WMD negotiating team, and that his absence ensured the success of the effort." Category: 2004 Presidential Transition 5:29:04 AM

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