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Tuesday, May 10, 2005
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Spring at the Statehouse
Mt. Virtus: "All in all, it turned out to be an unspectacular session - thankfully - with less damage inflicted than we originally feared. Having Republican Governor Bill Owens in place played a significant role in offsetting the Democrats' new legislative advantage: with one key exception. And all state political focus now shifts to that notable exception - the November ballot's Referendum C, which is sure to provoke a costly campaign on both sides.
Category: Denver November 2005 Election
9:20:20 PM 
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Springtime
New West: "On May 5, in Choteau, Montana, the Teton County Sheriff Office had to throw two troublemakers out of town - not drunks making a scene at the local salon, but two wayward grizzlies. The two young bears had taken up residence in a row of trees in the yard of a residence on the west side of Choteau."
9:12:58 PM
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Real ID
Bruce Schneier: "The United States is getting a national ID card. The REAL ID Act establishes uniform standards for state driver's licenses, effectively creating a national ID card. It's a bad idea, and is going to make us all less safe. It's also very expensive. And it's all happening without any serious debate in Congress."
Thanks to beSpacific for the link.
Product of a little misdirection. This is why westerners are nearly united in their mistrust of government.
9:02:55 PM
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Weblogs in Elections
Right Wing News: "25 pieces of advice for bloggers."
They've written a nice advice summary for webloggers. So far Denver politicians have not done much with weblogs. It's too bad. The biggest missed opportunity is the lack of an RSS feed.
Jeralyn Merritt writes, on the 5280 Weblog, "Former Denver District Attorney Bill Ritter has decided to run for Governor, according to the Larimer County Democrats, which sent out an e-mail message last night."
The Moderate Voice: "A new poll suggests that women are now returning to their traditional fold -- in the Democratic party."
Category: Denver November 2006 Election
6:34:26 PM
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Frist: Nuclear?
 TalkLeft: "Sen. Bill Frist may have developed a classic case of trigger-finger on the nuclear option. Despite pleas from the radical right evangelical fringe, he hasn't launched the plan. Despite pleas from fellow Senators and Congressmen, he hasn't called it off. What's causing him to stay in status quo mode, despite earlier promises to launch the nuke?"
TalkLeft: "The Washington Post reports that President Bush is now jumping into the filibuster fray. He previously promised to stay out of it."
Category: 2004 Presidential Transition
7:05:21 AM
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Hillaryphobia
Bull Moose: "The Moose attempts to quell a columnist's fear of a Hillary candidacy. The Moose believes that it is far too soon to saddle up with a horse for '08. Nevertheless, speculation is inevitable. To keep things in perspective, who thought Clinton would be the nominee in May, 1989 or for that matter who predicted that Carter would be the standard bearer in spring of 1973? Things happen and candidates will rise and fall, announce and withdraw."
Category: 2008 Presidential Election
6:57:26 AM
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Legal Pot in Denver?
SAFER (Safer Alternatives for Enjoyable Recreation) is planning to file paperwork to get a marijuana legalization bill on the fall ballot, according to the Denver Post [May 9, 2004, "Group to ask Denver voters to legalize pot"]. From the article, "SAFER proposes that Denver legalize possession of 1 ounce or less of marijuana by anyone 21 or older. But Assistant City Attorney David Broadwell said that even if such a measure passed, state law outlawing marijuana possession as a Class 2 petty offense, punishable by a fine of up to $100, would still apply in Denver. If the commission approves the petition and ballot-question language, SAFER would need to gather 5,383 signatures from registered Denver voters to get the question on the November ballot. That threshold represents 5 percent of the votes cast in Denver's last mayoral runoff. Tvert said the group supports legalizing possession of small amounts of marijuana to free police resources to combat a more damaging substance: alcohol."
The Denver Post editorial staff is urging Governor Owens to sign SB 198/206 [May 9, 2005, "An election system that voters can trust"]. They write, "The key provisions of SB 198 required counties to implement verifiable paper trails to back up electronic voting machines by 2010. Chris Castilian, the governor's chief lobbyist, called it an 'unfunded mandate' that would cost the counties a great deal of money. Senate Majority Leader Ken Gordon, the bill's chief sponsor, said 'it's important for people to have a verifiable paper trail so we can verify elections. ... It's very important for Americans to have confidence in the results of elections.' That's the key. SB 206 was put forth by the secretary of state based on recommendations from an advisory panel. Its key provision required people who conduct voter registration drives to register with the secretary of state and turn in registration forms within five days. It prohibits those people conducting the drives from paying workers based on the number of applications they hand out or collect. We strongly endorse this provision. The practice of paying per application practically invites fraud."
Category: Denver November 2005 Election
6:38:30 AM
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Denver Post Podcasts
The Denver Post is blurring the distinction between print and radio news. They're now offering podcasts for the news. They explain, "You can click here every weekday at 7 a.m. for an MP3 audio file of all the day's top headlines, or each day's top headlines by section, and either listen to them right at your computer or download them onto your computer and then to your iPod or other MP3 player."
"We'll also feature longer audio news segments from time to time, and archive them here for you."
"Keep up with the headlines on your commute to work, or while you're working out -- tune in to The Denver Post's daily Podcasts!"
"(For readers who are familiar with "RSS feeds" and use them to download podcasts directly to your iPods, we'll have RSS feeds for the PostPodcasts soon!)"
"The Denver Post's Podcasts are produced by a team of audio journalists, Noelle Leavitt, Ian Neligh and Armando Manazanares. The music is composed and performed by Shawn Riley, Nick Bishop, Johnny Osi and Keith Conant."
The Post is also numbering articles differently. I just noticed this today. I hope that it's an indication that they will no longer let links rot. Please.
6:30:27 AM
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© Copyright 2009 John Orr.
Last update: 3/14/09; 7:30:01 PM.
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