Coyote Gulch

Thursday, December 29, 2005

Science's Breakthrough of the Year: Watching evolution in action

Science Blog: "Evolution has been the foundation and guiding theory of biology since Darwin gave the theory its proper scientific debut in 1859. But Darwin probably never dreamed that researchers in 2005 would still be uncovering new details about the nuts and bolts of his theory -- how does evolution actually work in the world of influenza genes and chimpanzee genes and stickleback fish armor? Studies that follow evolution in action claim top honors as the Breakthrough of the Year, named by Science and its publisher AAAS, the nonprofit science society."

Category: 2008 Presidential Election

7:07:38 AM

Ogallala Aquifer/Republican River Symposium

Fort Morgan Times: "'Water Conservation: Creating Solutions for the Future' sets the theme for the upcoming Ogallala Aquifer Symposium scheduled Feb. 20 at Wray High School. The day-long event is scheduled to begin at 8:40 a.m. with representatives from Colorado, Kansas, and Nebraska presenting information on the Republican River Compact. In addition, topics updating the Republican River Water Conservation District, discussions on the impacts of management and technology on water, and technology information regarding residue management's relationship to water conservation are scheduled on the agenda during the morning session. Dr. James Goeke, Professor with the University of Nebraska, will also be presenting his study on the Republican River. Goeke has performed extensive research and study on various water related resources within the Ogallala Aquifer. The afternoon session will also include a report on the impact of the drought, cropping management alternatives and legislative updates from Colorado Commissioner of Agriculture Don Ament. This upcoming symposium will be the sixth meeting of the Ogallala Aquifer Symposium which are held bi-annually in Colorado. The symposiums are produced through Colorado State University Cooperative Extension in cooperation with other agencies and groups and are intended to provide information to the public regarding the importance of this valuable natural resource."

Category: Colorado Water

6:22:14 AM

14th Amendment
The Rocky Mountain News editorial staff sounds off on proposed changes to the 14th Amendment [December 29, 2005, "Don't end-run 14th Amendment"]. They write, "For almost 140 years, the 14th Amendment has been presumed to grant U.S. citizenship to anyone born here except the children of foreign diplomats.

"But now there's an effort in Congress, supported by Colorado Rep. Tom Tancredo, that would remove the right for the children of illegal immigrants - not by amending the Constitution, but by passing a bill.

"It may in fact be time to address birthright citizenship, but we don't believe it can be done by legislation. If you're going to tamper with the Constitution, you've got to do it the hard way. You pass an amendment. If Congress tries to revise the Constitution through legislation, it is no different from 'activist judges' some members complain about.

"Here's what the 14th Amendment's Section One says: 'All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.'

"Proposed in June 1866, a year after the Civil War, and ratified by July 1868, it was designed to overturn the U.S. Supreme Court's egregious Dred Scott ruling of 1857, which held that slaves were not and couldn't become citizens. The main Supreme Court decision applying the doctrine to all persons born here was the Wong Kim Ark ruling of 1898, which said the child of Chinese immigrants - themselves not at that time even eligible for citizenship - could be a citizen by virtue of his birth here. After all, even though the amendment may have been inspired by the slaves' status, it doesn't specifically refer to them. Others born here are just as eligible because they are clearly 'subject to the jurisdiction' of the United States.

"Tancredo argues differently on his Web site. He claims the drafters never intended to confer citizenship on the children of illegal immigrants and that mere physical presence in the land doesn't necessarily make a child subject to U.S. jurisdiction.

"Perhaps the amendment's authors would agree with Tancredo if they could pipe up today. But of course they can't. The key phrase 'subject to the jurisdiction thereof" exempts only diplomatic personnel, who are not subject to U.S. laws.'

Meanwhile, according to TalkLeft, the ACLU is, "calling for a special counsel to investigate Bush and the NSA warrantless electronic surveillance." Here's the link to the ACLU advertisement that will be running in the New York Times.

Political Wire: "Ron Brownstein acknowledges that Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) is the clear frontrunner for Democrats in 2008. But he makes an important observation: 'The most significant development in the Democratic presidential race this year was that one potential candidate to Clinton's left and one to her right each took a step past the others in their bracket.' On the left: 'The potential candidate who improved his situation the most was Wisconsin Sen. Russell Feingold... over the last year, Feingold has not only raised his visibility but done so by attaching himself to a specific agenda with a clear Democratic constituency.' On the right: 'This year's winner was outgoing Virginia Gov. Mark Warner. As Warner begins traveling the country, he is laying claim to a clear brand: the red state savior. Warner presents himself as the candidate whose message of fiscal discipline and social moderation can win back some of the culturally conservative states where Bush romped twice.'"

Category: 2008 Presidential Election

6:10:26 AM

Governor Hickenlooper?
Supporters of legal pot held a press conference at the State capitol yesterday, according to the Denver Post [December 29, 2005, "Pot proponents go for state ballot"]. From the article, "If a group of marijuana proponents has its way, Colorado adults will be able to legally possess small amounts of marijuana. The organization Safer Alternative for Enjoyable Recreation, or SAFER, announced during a news conference in front of the state Capitol on Wednesday that it plans to build on its recent successful Denver campaign...[Mason] Tvert stressed that even if the statewide effort succeeds, cities and towns in Colorado still would have the ability to fine or penalize marijuana users by imposing local laws. It also would remain illegal for people to publicly display marijuana."

Here's the link to the Safer Colorado website.

Here's an editorial from the Denver Post about legal pot [December 29 2005, "Marijuana push is for all the wrong reasons"]. They write, "We've said repeatedly that the national war on drugs is a failure. But that doesn't mean we favor mindlessly legalizing general marijuana use and possession at the state level. A more enlightened federal approach would include taxes substantial enough to discourage overuse of the drug and earmarking the resulting funds to anti-drug education and treatment of victims of more serious drugs such as cocaine. A reformed federal program could also require close regulation of marijuana production to keep potencies within specified limits and serious study of the health effects of smoking pot."

Here's the coverage from the Rocky Mountain News [December 29, 2005, "State initiative next step for marijuana backers"]. From the article, "He [Mason Tvert] said he's sticking with the controversial campaign that apparently helped win in Denver: It argues that adults should have the right to choose marijuana as a safer alternative to alcohol, which pot advocates blame for deadly violence and car wrecks. Even critics of the I-100 campaign say Tvert tapped into rising opposition to the national war on drugs by arguing it was diverting scarce funding for police - and for fighting violent crime - to prosecute otherwise law-abiding, nonviolent pot-smoking residents. Now SAFER is drawing support for the state initiative from a 4,500-member organization of current and former narcotics agents, police chiefs, prosecutors, prison wardens, judges and federal agents. 'The war on drugs has been too long and too disgustingly failed and far too destructive,' said Jack Cole, executive director of the international group Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP). 'Since 1970, we've spent more than a trillion dollars on this war and all we have to show for it each year is we arrest another 1.6 million people in this country for nonviolent drug offenses,' said Cole. 'Fully half are marijuana arrests.' Cole retired as a detective lieutenant after 26 years with the New Jersey State Police. He spent 14 of those working undercover as a narcotics agent."

Elevated Voices: "It has always been assumed that if more young people voted they would give Democrats an advantage, in part because more traditional conservative Republican messages like tax cuts and smaller government aren't as appealing on a widespread basis to young people as Democratic messages like funding for education and health care. If that logic holds true, a marijuana initiative could help a lot of Democrats get elected in November, whether the measure passes or not."

Meanwhile the Rocky Mountain News looks at Mayor Hickenlooper's possible run for Governor in today's edition [December 29, 2005, "'Gov. Hick' may be tough sell"]. They write, "But if Hickenlooper joins the governor's race, he might face a problem. Historically, many voters outside of Denver are suspicious of the city and especially its mayor. For decades, no Denver mayor has gone on to be elected governor. There are several reasons for that, from longstanding anger on the Western Slope at the diversion of water to Denver, to a perception that Denver just isn't like the rest of Colorado. 'Denver is politically and culturally out of sync with the rest of the state,' said political analyst Eric Sondermann. 'It's very urbane. It's more heavily minority. It's a place that passed a liberal marijuana law and voted for John Kerry by 2 to 1.' What Hickenlooper has going for him, several observers agree, is a perception that he's above partisan politics. That has helped make him popular with unaffiliated voters and even many Republicans...Sondermann said Hickenlooper has defied many of the laws of politics, proving more popular than anyone ever imagined a Denver mayor could be.'History is made by those who do things for the first time,' he said."

Category: Denver November 2006 Election

5:39:28 AM

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