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Thursday, September 22, 2005
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Warm West == Water Supply Unpredictability
The Rocky Mountain News is reporting that the Rocky Mountain Climate Organization is warning about the effect of global warming on the predictability of water supplies out west [September 22, 2005, "Report: 'West is warming'"]. From the article, "Climate change in Colorado and the West is leading to depleted snowpacks, higher temperatures and warmer winters, all factors that could endanger water supplies for the Front Range and plains agriculture."
Here's the link for the RMCO report. You should visit the website just for John Fielder's photographs. 
Category: Colorado Water
5:49:03 AM 
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Roberts for Chief Justice?
The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee is expected to vote today on the nomination of John Roberts as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, according to the Denver Post [September 22, 2005, "13,000 Coloradans petition senators on Roberts"]. From the article, "The Colorado Republican Party says it has collected more than 5,000 signatures backing Roberts and plans to send them next week to Salazar and Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Colo., who supports the nominee...(U.S. Senator) Salazar said Wednesday that he had not decided how he'll vote. He has asked the White House for more records on Roberts' Justice Department work...Rep. Mark Udall, D-Colo., has no say on the issue. But he urged Senate Democrats on Wednesday to back confirmation."
Here's the coverage from the Rocky Mountain News [September 22, 2005, "Salazar unsure on Roberts vote"].
The Denver Post editorial staff is in favor of a Chief Justice John Roberts [September 22, 2005, "Roberts able choice for U.S. chief justice"]. They write, "...during last week's hearings, what we did learn was reassuring. Roberts put himself forward as a practical jurist who would bring an open mind and legal rectitude to his lifetime assignment. We favor Roberts' confirmation and expect he will perform ably on the high court and as chief of the federal judiciary."
Bull Moose: "What about consulting the folks who are in the check-out line at Wal-Mart and Target? The American people can only be perplexed by the near Pavlovian opposition to Roberts. How believable will the opposition be if the next nominee is truly a threat to the Republic? There are precious few statesmen and a slew of predictable panderers to parochial partisan interest groups. Democrats might consider trusting the people again."
Category: 2004 Presidential Transition
5:20:30 AM
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McCain or Daschle for President?
Alexander Bolton writes, "The confrontation attests to McCain's growing clout on Capitol Hill. By working with Democrats and winning the backing of a handful of Republicans, he has demonstrated that he can wrest the chamber's agenda from the leaders. It also shows that McCain may be becoming more influential within his own caucus at a time when President Bush is struggling in the polls and the senator has emerged as a front-runner for the 2008 presidential race."
Thanks to The Moderate Voice for the link.
Political Wire: "Former Senate Democratic leader tom Daschle (D-SD) 'has made several moves in recent days that have insiders wondering whether he is laying the groundwork for a national campaign,' the Washington Post reports."
Category: 2008 Presidential Election
5:15:43 AM
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Holtzman, Ritter or Beauprez for Governor?
Marc Holtzman writes on his weblog, "I told the audience last night, and it is worth mentioning again, that my sparring with Rep. Buescher showed how it is possible to disagree in an agreeable way, even on issues as contentious as these two tax-and-spend ballot measures. Some of the most vocal proponents of C and D would do well to give Bernie Buescher's approach a try. All too often, unfortunately, the tone of the C and D debate from the side of the measures' proponents has been less about good public policy than about indulging in personal attacks that do little to inform the public about the truly important issues that are at stake in this upcoming election."
Coyote Gulch salutes Mr. Holtzman for creating a weblog and taking the time to post. It's been nearly a month between posts however. I'd like to see a greater frequency of posts. Weblogs are conversations Mr. Holtzman. Short posts on topics that interest you are just fine. Mix them with a long article now and then and you'll get people to listen.
We do want to remind the campaign that the netroots has not replaced the grass roots as Peter Daou reminds us in his article THE TRIANGLE: Limits of Blog Power. He writes, "Looking at the political landscape, one proposition seems unambiguous: blog power on both the right and left is a function of the relationship of the netroots to the media and the political establishment. Forming a triangle of blogs, media, and the political establishment is an essential step in creating the kind of sea change we[base ']ve seen in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina."
Of course Coyote Gulch is offering to help any candidate or campaign start a weblog. You'll need $40 for a copy of Radio and $2,500 or so for a PowerBook, inexpensive hosting from someone like Forethought.net and an Internet connection. We do not charge for this help.
Bill Ritter is gearing up for the long haul signing up many familiar faces as advisors according to the Colorado Pols. They write, "Advising Ritter on his campaign are Mike Dino, Dave Kenney and Greg Kolomitz. Dino previously managed the campaigns of Wellington Webb and directed Rollie Heath's bid for governor in 2002. Kenney most recently directed the campaign for the Denver jail. Kolomitz works for consultant Maria Garcia Berry and previously co-chaired the FasTracks campaign. He was also one of the leaders of Ari Zavaras' failed campaign for Denver Mayor in 2003. It is rumored that either Dino or Kolomitz will take over as full time campaign manager at some point."
Marc Holtzman is angry with Bob Beauprez, according to the Rocky Mountain News [September 22, 2005, "Holtzman camp lashes out"]. From the article, "Both Holtzman and Beauprez have come out against the tax measure, but Holtzman questions whether his rival really opposes it."
Category: Denver November 2006 Election
5:07:19 AM
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Katrina Test - Referendum C
Here's an article from today's Denver Post detailing Governor Owens visit with transportation officials yesterday [September 22, 2005, "Owens: Crowded roads need Referendums C, D"].
Susan Barnes-Gelt thinks that the Denver Public Schools' ProComp is a good plan and it deserves support from voters on November 1st [Denver Post, September 22, 2005, "With ProComp plan, DPS has grown up"]. She writes, "ProComp is this nation's most innovative teacher-compensation system, designed in concert by the teachers' union and the school administration. It rewards teachers for professional accomplishments - knowledge and new skills applied in the classroom and student growth measured by 'longitudinal' testing, which means individual students are tracked as they pass through the school system. It also creates market incentives for the best teachers to work in low-performing classrooms with kids who may not speak English or who may come from difficult or impoverished homes."
From today's Denver Post, "The Denver Classroom Teachers Association gave at-large school board candidate Jill Conrad $20,000 on Wednesday. The union, which endorsed candidates Monday, gave Conrad the money at a fundraiser at the Uptown Tavern. Conrad, a consultant and doctoral student, is running against three others - Brad Buchanan, Andy Karsian and Dave Lewis - for the school board seat."
State Representative Joe Stengel opened a can of worms by suggesting that Colorado Lottery funds be used to help the state budget, according to the Rocky Mountain News [September 22, 2005, "Legislator's 'cuts' take fire"]. From the article, "A lawmaker's suggestion that Colorado redirect lottery money from open space and shut down a state department (Local Affairs) raised hackles Wednesday. The wrath crossed party lines and included environmentalists and health care providers."
Mike Littwin weighs in on Referendum C in his column in today's Rocky [September 22, 2005, "Littwin: Ref C debate about government's role, if any"]. He writes, "But Ref C is really about government - and whether we actually need one. And the spectacular governmental failure, on all levels, during Hurricane Katrina provides the answer. The problem is, it provides more than one answer. It either shows that government doesn't work, so why trust any government with an extra $3.7 billion or so? Or that government could work - but only if you make a sufficient investment. Didn't someone cheap out on the levees? On Nov. 1, you take the Katrina test."
The Piglet Report is back with the title Wasteful Spending by Colorado Government.
Category: Denver November 2005 Election
4:51:14 AM
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Newspapers in trouble
Dan Gillmor is worried about the newspaper business. He writes, "It's painful to watch a business I care so much about commit slow suicide this way. But the financial writing is increasingly on the wall for an industry that simply can't figure out how to handle its challenges."
4:41:03 AM
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© Copyright 2009 John Orr.
Last update: 3/14/09; 7:46:53 PM.
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