Coyote Gulch

Friday, December 9, 2005

Colorado Pols commenter list
SoapBlox Colorado: "Who isn't wondering about which commenters over at ColoradoPols the GOoPs were worried about? Well, wonder no more, my fellow Bloxen! Here's a list of all the usernames Laura Teal and the GOoPs were tracking from their posts over at ColoradoPols. What makes me sad is I'm not on the list!"

7:05:10 PM

Gay Marriage ban in Colorado?
All is not well with those that want to ban gay marriages in Colorado, according to the Denver Post [December 9, 2005, "Push to nix gay nuptials begins"]. From the article, "What was envisioned as a broad coalition coming together to put a constitutional amendment prohibiting gay marriage on the Colorado ballot next fall is divided over what exactly the measure should say. According to sources involved in the discussions, the influential Colorado Springs evangelical Christian group Focus on the Family is pressing for a measure that would ban not only gay marriage but also same-sex civil unions or domestic partnerships. But other potential backers of an amendment - including the state's three Roman Catholic bishops - prefer a narrower, potentially less divisive ballot measure that would simply define marriage as between one man and one woman, sources said. Another key player, the Rev. Ted Haggard of Colorado Springs, president of the National Association of Evangelicals, said Thursday that he stands with the Catholic position. He said the institution of marriage deserves constitutional protection and that civil unions are a matter for the state legislature. Haggard characterized the debate as a healthy dialogue that is part of consensus building, pointing out that disagreements also arose over the wording of a proposed federal constitutional amendment barring gay marriage before a united front prevailed among conservatives...While 10 states are expected to vote on gay-marriage amendments next year, the stakes are high in Colorado because the state is home to both Focus on the Family and gay philanthropist Tim Gill, who recently formed a political nonprofit group that will spend millions of dollars to oppose anti-gay-marriage amendments nationwide...Other conservative leaders who confirmed their involvement are Rocky Mountain Family Council executive director Jim Chapman and Carl Boyd stun of Grand Junction, secretary of the Mesa County Republican Party. Boydstun is organizing Western Slope support. Bishop Philip Porter, an African-American minister and former board chairman with the evangelical men's ministry Promise Keepers, is also in the loop, proponents said."

Category: Denver November 2006 Election

6:32:43 AM

More rain for the U.S. Southwest?

Deforestation may lead to beneficial weather changes in the Southwest U.S. according to the Rocky Mountain News [December 9, 2005, "Model shows how Amazon land use may change Southwest U.S. climate"]. From the article, "U.S. - including southwest Colorado - and offset some of global warming's effects. That's one of the surprising results of a computerized climate study by researchers at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder. The study's authors say it is the first to incorporate land-cover changes - caused by agriculture, deforestation and other human activities - in climate simulations using advanced global computer models. 'Land cover has long been one of those issues that really hasn't been included, because it's much more difficult to incorporate,' said University of Kansas researcher Johannes Feddema, lead author of the study published in today's edition of the journal Science. Feddema worked on the project while on sabbatical at the Boulder center. Six NCAR researchers are co-authors. The enhanced Southwest monsoon is one example of what climate researchers call teleconnections: A change in one part of the world can have unanticipated effects on the climate thousands of miles away. Each year, about 50,000 square miles of forest - an area about half the size of Colorado - is cleared worldwide, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. Between 2000 and 2005, South America suffered the greatest losses, largely because of conversion of forest to pasture and farmland. If significant Amazon deforestation continues in coming decades, tropical air-circulation patterns will shift, allowing summer moisture to drift farther north and be captured by the Southwest U.S. monsoon, according to the study. As a result, southwest Colorado could see an extra 2 inches or so of annual precipitation - mostly in the summer - and summer temperatures could cool by a couple of degrees Fahrenheit by 2100."

Pueblo Chieftain: "A plan to preserve land along the Fountain Creek corridor could dovetail with a Pueblo consultant's suggestion to combine flood control and water reuse. 'Flood control structures could be used to improve the channel and wildlife habitat. It would blend in perfectly,' Ray Petros, a Denver water lawyer consulting with Pueblo County on land use regulations, said Thursday. This week, Great Outdoors Colorado funded a $427,000 conservation easement on Fountain Creek as part of the Peak to Prairie program. The program is an effort by the Nature Conservancy, Colorado Open Lands, the Army and local government to link Cheyenne Mountain, Fort Carson and state public lands in Chico Basin with a buffer zone against development. The project eventually could encompass 100,000 acres. Petros has posed an alternative to the proposed Southern Delivery System that would tie flood control with water reuse, delaying the need and reducing the size of a water delivery pipeline proposed by Colorado Springs. In the process, a reservoir on Fountain Creek could provide recreation and wildlife habitat benefits, he said."

Category: Colorado Water

6:22:30 AM

Immigration Reform?
The U.S. House of Representatives is taking up an immigration reform bill next week, according to the Rocky Mountain News [December 9, 2005, "Tancredo's border fight going to House"]. From the article, "Rep. Tom Tancredo is about to get his big border showdown. For years, Tancredo has had to bat down charges that he's a bigot or a crackpot, all while thumping his seal-the-borders mantra. On Thursday, conservative colleagues were calling him their leader as they gird for what could be a big fight in the House of Representatives next week over a proposed immigration enforcement measure...The bill being considered next week falls far short of what Tancredo and his 92-member House Immigration Reform Caucus want...As it stands, the legislation by Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R- Wis., would toughen penalties for both illegal immigrants and their employers. It would make it a felony to be in the United States illegally, rather than a misdemeanor as under existing law. The Sensenbrenner bill also would increase fines for companies that hire illegal immigrants and would make it mandatory for employers to use an immigration verification system established on a voluntary basis in 1996. Those provisions, and the fact that the bill does not include any versions of President Bush's proposed guest worker plan, are fine with Tancredo and members of his caucus. However, they are preparing to fight if the Republican-led House Rules Committee will not allow up- or-down votes on adding some even tougher provisions on their wish list. Among them: Approval and funding for a two-layer fence along the U.S.-Mexico border; an end to automatic 'birthright citizenship' for children of illegal immigrants born in the United States; and measures giving state and local governments more authority and resources to detain illegal immigrants."

Two scientists John Hall and Roy Glauber blasted President Bush's position on science, according to the Rocky Mountain News [December 9, 2005, "Coloradan uses Nobel to criticize"]. From the article, "While in Stockholm to pick up their Nobel Prizes, Boulder physicist John Hall and one of his co-winners criticized President Bush's science policies at a news conference. Hall said the administration's attitude toward science 'does not go in the right direction,' The Associated Press reported. 'I think to put a gloom-and- doom spin on it is probably a little bit of overreacting, but it is a worrying time,' he said Thursday. One of Hall's co- winners, American physicist Roy Glauber, went further. 'There is a measure of denial of scientific evidence going on within our administration, and there are many scientists who are not happy about that,' Glauber said. Some in Congress are more concerned with the political consequences of research projects than their scientific importance, he said. Hall and Glauber shared the physics prize with Germany's Theodor Haensch. The Americans made their remarks at a news conference after the physics laureates gave a lecture to students and fellow researchers at Stockholm University."

New Mexico governor Bill Richardson was in Denver yesterday according to the Denver Post [December 9, 2005, "Democrats need broader message, N.M. governor says"]. From the article, "New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson said Thursday that his fellow Democrats must deliver a broad political message that encompasses national security, economic growth and moral values if they want to win state and federal races next year and the presidency in 2008. Voters, he said, need to see Democrats as tough on terrorism but also diplomatic overseas. And when it comes to the issue of abortion rights, supported by most of the party's base, family planning and adoption should also be discussed...He also talked about Democratic operatives meeting this weekend to decide whether a Western state and a Southern state should be added to the early primaries."

Category: 2008 Presidential Election

6:09:39 AM

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