Coyote Gulch

Sunday, November 6, 2005

New Feeds for Ed Cone
Coyote Gulch has pointed to Ed Cone many times over the years. We read Ed's feed every day and recommend it highly. He is one of the big drivers of blogging in Greensboro, North Carolina. He's dumped Radio Userland for a hosted service.

Ed has a new URL and a new RSS feed.

Coyote Gulch respects Ed's choice but humbly disagrees. We favor having control over our content and the responsibility for backing up the source. Radio Userland is a little nerdy to run. Support is much better now. They're very reasonably priced. The RSS is fully conforming. You have to be able to hack the markup to run ads.

We think the biggest problems for Ed were probably due to his heavy travel schedule. I think he was trying to run the software on Windows. Coyote Gulch would have recommended a PowerBook for a road machine.

9:39:46 AM

Clark for President?
Former General Wesley Clark weighs in on torture in an interview last week. Clarks is quoted as saying, "I've (been) very disappointed that the Vice President is [arguing for torture provisions] because I know it's easy for an armchair quarterback to think if you put somebody's arm behind his back the guy will squeal. But the truth is, and John McCain I think is living proof of this, is that people don't squeal when you torture them. They may scream and they may talk but they're not giving you the information that in most cases that you want. If they are, there are other ways to get it. I think this is one of those issues that goes right to the top of the government. When you have the Vice President advocating the exemption for torture, it's pretty clear where the guidance came from to abuse and rough up prisoners, and even though this is not the character of the United States Army, the leaders I know or the men and women who serve in the army, they're nevertheless subject to his control and direction. This has got to be stopped at the political level, the legal level--it's not a problem inside the armed forces. And that's been the failure of the investigation so far. Sure, they're investigating how come these people at Abu Ghraib went too far, they should never have gone that far, but the whole idea of not respecting the Geneva convention, the whole idea of pressuring and abusing and humiliating these prisoners did not originate with sergeants and privates in Abu Ghraib."

The audio is up on Crooks and Liars.

Oval Office 2008: "Three Republican 2008 contenders were in Iowa last weekend, and the Des Moines Register was particularly keen to get their views on the indictment of 'Scooter' Libby, the Vice-President's Chief of Staff. Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney clearly has future elections on the brain, because his answer focused on the impact of the Libby indictment on the 2006 and 2008 elections. 'I really don't think that voters ascribe to an entire party the mistake, even the serious mistake, of one party member,' Romney told the Register. 'People don't believe in guilt by association.' Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich took a broader, and more downbeat, perspective, befitting a man who thinks his own party is doomed unless it steals all his ideas. He said the Libby indictment was 'not good,' according to the Register, before moving seamlessly onto his favourite topic: what's wrong with the Republican Party (and why only he can save it). Nebraska Senator Chuck Hagel took the unorthodox approach in dealing with the question about Libby, of giving an answer about Libby, rather than about the fate of the party, or the Republic of whatever."

Oval Office 2008: "Here's an article from last Sunday's Washington Post about the Democratic Party's commission looking at the presidential primary calendar."

Political Wire: "Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) 'is taking action to make it hard for conservatives to write him off in the 2008 presidential race,' Washington Whispers reports. 'His office confirms that the maverick moderate recently met with the Rev. Jerry Falwell, a conservative icon who is influential with voters on the right.'

"'Also, as McCain prepares a campaign-style trip to South Carolina, critical in the 2008 GOP primaries, a key ally is putting himself in the good graces of conservatives. South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham is winning kudos from conservatives for backing Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito, raising his stature in the state and maybe even making his 2008 endorsement the key to victory. And should McCain win the state that derailed his 2000 bid, Graham would vault to the top of the veep list, say insiders.'"

Andrew Sullivan: "He's still furiously lobbying Senators to protect his right to torture. A man who avoided service in Vietnam is lecturing John McCain on the legitimacy of torturing military detainees. But notice he won't even make his argument before Senate aides, let alone the public. Why not? If he really believes that the U.S. has not condoned torture but wants to reserve it for exceptional cases, why not make his argument in the full light of day? You know: where democratically elected politicians operate."

Category: 2008 Presidential Election

8:52:57 AM

2005 Moisture above average for Montezuma County

2005 was an up year for rainfall in Montezuma County, according to the Cortez Journal. From the article, "In Cortez, the amount of precipitation for 2005 through October is hovering above 100 percent of average at 13.02 inches, according to regional weather observer Jim Andrus. That total is 117 percent of normal - 1.13 inches - through last month, he said...For October, the region garnered 1.65 inches of moisture, which is 106 percent of normal, 1.55 inches. Andrus said the year's only below-average months were March, May, June and July...Recent rainfall has seemingly been a benefit to the amount of water storage in McPhee Reservoir. As of Friday, McPhee's capacity is at 299,298 acre-feet, and at full volume, the reservoir holds approximately 381,000 acre-feet, while its minimum pool remains at about 152,000."

Category: Colorado Water

8:33:30 AM

Ritter for Governor?
Bill Ritter is swimming upstream to get the support of many for his gubernatorial run given his "Pro-Life" views, according to the Rocky Mountain News [November 5, 2005, "Abortion doctor opposes Dem for governor"]. From the article, "Local abortion doctor Warren Hern says he can't support Democrat Bill Ritter's candidacy for governor because of Ritter's position on reproductive rights...'If you were elected governor of Colorado, it would be an historic step backwards for Colorado and for the nation in the area of women's rights and reproductive freedom,' the Boulder doctor wrote. 'I want to see a Democrat return to the office of Governor of Colorado, but not at the cost of reproductive freedom for the women of Colorado, and not at the cost of freedom for Colorado physicians to help them.'"

Category: Denver November 2006 Election

8:23:21 AM

Fragile coalition around Referendum C
Here's an opinion piece about last Tuesday's election authored by Governor Bill Owens from the Denver Post [November 6, 2005, "Coloradans say "yes" to economic recovery"]. He writes, "So overall, Tuesday's election was a great success. People throughout Colorado - Republicans, Democrats, unaffiliated voters - set their differences aside and put Colorado first. Around the country, Colorado will be seen as a state that is willing to invest in its future and, more importantly, willing to invest in its people. Colorado is moving forward."

Andrew Romanoff has authored an opinion piece in today's Denver Post [November 6, 2005, "Lessons to remember in wake of C's victory"]. He writes, "If victory has a thousand fathers, Referendum C may have trouble establishing paternity. Was it the glitch-fixing governor or the skydiving mayor who put the ballot measure over the top? Perhaps it was the endorsements of 1,100 organizations, from the Weld County Livestock Association to the Gunnison Council for the Arts. Or maybe it was just Coloradans' common sense. No one can say for sure why Referendum C succeeded. But in the wake of last week's election, several lessons are apparent - and worth heeding. First, bipartisanship works."

Will the coalition around Referendum C last? That's the question being asked by lawmakers, according to the Denver Post [November 6, 2005, "Promising partnership"]. From the article, "Colorado lawmakers have high hopes that the extraordinary coalition they formed to pass Referendum C will have a lasting influence during the upcoming legislative session. Republicans joined Democrats and millionaire business executives lined up with labor-union workers to support the ballot measure that lets the state keep extra revenues estimated at $3.7 billion over the next five years. Voters approved Referendum C on Tuesday. While the group won't continue meeting on a regular basis, they said they have created a fragile foundation for future negotiations."

John Andrews is still attacking supporters of Referendum C and distorting the facts in his column in today's Denver Post [November 6, 2005, "Voters defang the TABOR-toothed tiger"]. He writes, "Opponents of Referendum C counted on voters rejecting a bigger tax bite, $3,100 for the average family in the next five years, under the pressure of high prices for gasoline, home heating, health care and housing. We appealed to people's skepticism that the Democrat-led legislature would use the new money responsibly. Polling even last weekend suggested proponents hadn't made the sale."

Coyote Gulch would remind the former state legislator that the $3,100 figure was thoroughly debunked during the campaign along with the claim that it was driven by Democrats. Mr. Anderson, it's time to get off the talking points and look at what happened. Do the science. We do love the "fact" that you're a "Reagan conservative" while Governor Owens is now a "Bush Conservative." It'll be a while before those wounds heal and that's healthy for our state Republican party.

Bob Ewegen weighs in on Referendum D's defeat last Tuesday [November 6, 2005, "Voters cancel state's credit card"]. He writes, "Caldara, in contrast, fought the third and fourth letters of the alphabet from the git-go. But he believes that D's defeat in what he calls a 'split decision' still means the state can build new highways on a pay-as-you-go basis. 'By defeating Referendum D, we just took away the state's credit card. They can still build new roads, they just can't borrow the money,' Caldara said. That's the same position Gov. Bill Owens and transportation chief Tom Norton are taking - that the voters want better highways as long as they aren't paid for with borrowed money."

The Denver Post editorial staff is singing the praises of State House Speaker Andrew Romanoff and Governor Owens today [November 6, 2005, "Colorado well served by fiscal leadership"]. From the editorial, "The battle for Referendum C was won thanks to inspired leadership from Coloradans to whom we tip our hats for pragmatism and principle. At the top of the list is Gov. Bill Owens and House Speaker Andrew Romanoff. They worked hard to craft the substance of the fiscal measures and campaigned tirelessly to protect Colorado's future. They're not exactly best buddies, but they got the job done even while incurring the wrath of partisans who can't imagine the benefits of bipartisan cooperation."

Here's an editorial from today's Denver Post claiming that the people have gotten back some faith in government and that the Referendum C vote and other revenue issues shows it [November 5, 2005, "Voters invest in local services"]. From the editorial, "While all eyes were on the state revenue battle known as Referendum C, voters were approving more than two-thirds of the local tax issues put before them across the state."

Fred Brown discusses Tuesday's election winners and losers in his column from today's Denver Post [November 6, 2005, "Election's winners and losers"]. He writes, "Sen. Norma Anderson and other centrist Republicans, including Steve Johnson and Nancy Spence, restored credibility for the old-fashioned moderate wing of the Republican Party. For years, "moderate" has been a dirty word in some GOP circles, but they proved that occasional negotiation works better than constant confrontation."

Here's a look at the vote for Referendums C and D from the Cortez Journal - serving the tri-small towns of Dolores, Mancos and Cortez. From the article, "In a mirror image of the statewide vote on C and D, electors of Montezuma County gave state Referendum C a thumbs up in Tuesday's election, but voters said "no" to its companion measure, Referendum D."

Coyote Gulch thinks that Montezuma county may move into a role as a bellwether for future statewide votes.

Elevated Voices: "The article also discusses the racism and hyperbole behind the demonization of marijuana."

Category: Denver November 2005 Election

7:10:25 AM

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