Coyote Gulch

Thursday, July 7, 2005

Terrorist Attacks in London
A picture named britishflag.gif Josh Trevino: "After the rain, a cool, clear day dawned across Britain. The brilliant sun produced a brilliant blue in the skies above. A few white clouds scudded through the azure. It was a beautiful morning. A bright morning. A morning I'd seen before, in New York City forty-five months past. This morning was the Bloody Seventh."
Bull Moose: "The Moose expresses his solidarity with the British people."
The Moderate Voice: "Ever since 911 there have been occasional reports suggesting that terrorists dearly wanted to hit London for a variety or reasons, not the least of which include Great Britain's role as a strong ally to the U.S. in the war against terrorism and the war in Iraq and it's role as a European financial hub. Some analyists immediately announced the blast had all the signs of being an Al Qaeda operation."
6:21:33 AM

Westword has a short roundup on the "Denver Three," Karen Bauer, Leslie Wiese and Alex Young.
6:17:59 AM

Western Primary?
Should there be a western primary? The Denver Post asked Howard Dean that question [July 7, 2005, "Dean tight-lipped on odds of West primary"]. From the article, "Howard Dean - who won his Democratic Party chairmanship by promising to involve more Americans in the process of picking a president - refuses to take a stance on whether the Rocky Mountain West should hold its own regional primary.
"'I won't talk about the issue of the Western primary. I need to let the commission do its work before they give their recommendations,' the former Vermont governor and presidential campaign firebrand said during a phone interview Wednesday.
"The commission Dean spoke of is a group of Democrats - including Coloradan Mike Stratton, the former chairman of Ken Salazar's successful U.S. Senate campaign - who are exploring ways to reform the presidential selection process. Critics have complained that Iowa and New Hampshire have dominated for too long and regions such as the Rocky Mountain West need to increase their clout in picking national nominees."
Additional news about Howard Dean from the Rocky Mountain News [July 7, 2005, "Dean: Nominee can 'salvage' Bush term"].
Dean is visiting Colorado next week.
Political Wire: "Former Clinton policy advisor Bruce Reed has a blog for Slate titled Not Yet Dead, about returning Democrats to power. 'Twenty years ago this summer, I moved to Washington to take on the Democratic Party's problems. Unfortunately, we're both still here.'"
Category: 2008 Presidential Election
5:52:51 AM

Referendums C and D
Here's an opinion piece in opposition to Referendum C from the Denver Post [July 7, 2005, "If state can't do the math, why pay up?"]. From the article, "So, when state economists contend that they accidentally calculated $500 million twice in the budget, we're offered a revealing look at how Colorado government works. Which is to say, the opposite of the real world. For proponents of Referendums C and D, which would allow government to keep billions in tax refunds, the $500 million error merely affirms Colorado's need for an influx of cash to make up for potential shortfalls. For opponents of the tax increase, the $500 million provides further evidence that government is inefficient, careless and mathematically challenged"
Category: Denver November 2005 Election
5:48:50 AM

Gonzales to Supreme Court?
Alberto Gonzales: "I've been asked since 2001 whether or not I'd consider going on the court, and I've consistently said, 'I'm not a candidate for the Supreme Court' - and that remains true today, I love being attorney general. My job, currently, is to help the president make this decision." [From the Denver Post July 7, 2005, Gonzales: "I'm not a candidate"]
Blogs for Bush: "On both the left and the right, we can find strong statements in opposition to nominating Gonzalez to fill O'Connor's Supreme Court seat. For the left, the complaints are generally absurd, as are all leftwing complaints these days - they mostly revolve around their slanderous statements about the Attorney General and the lies about torture at Guantanamo Bay and elsewhere...for the right, however, the complaints have more substance."
Political Wire: "'While nobody inside the White House is talking names yet, those close to the efforts to line up nominees for the Supreme Court are suggesting with greater confidence that Attorney General Alberto Gonzales tops the list to replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and that Justice Antonin Scalia will take over for ailing Chief Justice William Rehnquist,' Washington Whispers reports."
Meanwhile, the Denver Post editorial staff has some advice for the President [July 7, 2005, "Bush should follow own advice on court"]. They write, "If the president follows his own advice and selects a thoughtful conservative, we have no doubt the Senate will confirm that nominee without the dreaded 'partisan hyperbole.' But if Bush chooses an agenda-driven zealot backed by the very 'extreme' special-interest groups he rightly warned against, then our advice is simple: Katie, bar the door."
Political Wire: "Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE), 'who chaired the Senate Judiciary Committee during some of its most contentious Supreme Court nomination fights, is calling on President Bush to choose a nominee who could win the unanimous support of both parties, not one who will split the Senate along partisan lines,' the Wilmington News-Journal reports."
Political Wire: "President Bush named former Sen. Fred Thompson (R-TN) to guide his yet-to-be named Supreme Court nominee through the Senate confirmation process, the AP reports."
Blogs for Bush: "In the end, the American people are going to want results, not rhetoric. We're not going to tolerate a filibuster, we're not going to tolerate unprecedented demands that Bush should get permission from the minority party on whom his nominee should be. We've already seen the Democrats attempt to change the rules on how many votes are required to confirm judges, but they're not getting away with their tactics on this battle."
Category: 2004 Presidential Transition
5:38:04 AM

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