Saturday, June 3, 2006

The breadcrumbs we leave as we move about the Net Steve Gilmor: "Here's where the government bait and switch package starts to tick ominously: First it's about child porn. Everybody's against that. Then it's about terrorism. Ditto. But then, while we've got that data, let's go in and help our friends down at the MPAA and RIAA with their business model problem and police Intellectual Property 'theft.' What about peer-to-peer communications filled with inappropriate political concepts? When we've got you by the bitstream, folks, we decide what's OK, not you. "Slippery slope indeed." Thank to Dave Winer for the link. "2008 pres" 6:33:25 PM

Domestic spying Daily Kos: "In two courtrooms in two different states this week, there was one common outcome: a small victory for citizens challenging the government's domestic spying activities. As you know, the legislative and executive branch have endeavored to insulate the program from judicial scrutiny... "On May 30th, a federal judge ordered that John Ashcroft and Robert Mueller must reveal whether they were aware of any secret government monitoring of communications between the plaintiffs and their lawyers... also, "U.S. District Judge Anna Diggs Taylor apparently doesn't like the government's games. Instead of ruling immediately on the state secrets privilege (and possibly killing the case), she has ordered a hearing on the plaintiff's motion first. (You can read the order here in PDF form). Only after she hears both sides argue the legality of the program will she proceed to the state secrets privilege. Translation? For the first time, a court will hold a hearing on the legality of the program." "2008 pres" 5:30:51 PM

Marriage amendment Here's the text of President Bush's radio address on the marriage amendment today. He's setting the stage for another speech on Monday - just as the U.S. Senate is hoping to prove themselves to the faithful. "2008 pres" 5:26:55 PM

NORML Aspen legal seminar TalkLeft: "Dateline Aspen: Today is the final day of the NORML Aspen legal seminar. Troy Hooper of the Aspen Daily News takes a look at the first day's events including my presentation on Terrorism and the War on Drugs: The Shrinking of the Constitution." "2008 pres" 5:22:59 PM

Richardson for president? Bill Richardson Blog: "The Albuquerque Tribune reports that Gov. Richardson has close to $6M in hand for his general election race. That's good news...Given that Richardson is heavily favored in this race [New Mexico governor] anyway, I'm betting the vast majority of that money will stay in the warchest for the future...it seems this warchest puts Richardson ahead of likely '08 contenders like Mark Warner ($3.4M) and Chris Dodd ($2M), but behind Hillary (a staggering $20M) and Kerry ($19M). Interesting information, to be sure." "2008 pres" 5:07:15 PM

Coyote Gulch Comments We're shutting down comments to see if that'll improve performance. Thanks to everyone that's ever commented, except the whackos. You know who you are. Instead of using the comments please send email to CoyoteGulch at mac.com. 1:19:42 PM

Beauprez or Holtzman for governor? Mt. Virtus: "It's time for Colorado Republicans to put the bungling behind them and unite behind Bob Beauprez. Holtzman came up 743 signatures short (despite the Denver Post's faulty math) - though there's sure to be a recount in the coming days. The Secretary of State certifies the primary ballot by next Friday. "What do I mean by 'bungling'? First and most obvious, the Holtzman campaign's ground game. Expecting more than 40% at the State Assembly, they were shocked to find out they only got 28% and didn't make the ballot that way. More recently, Holtzman's team turned in 21,000 petition signatures but had a high rate of rejection. It would appear the names or signatures were not given careful scrutiny - a big no-no. "Second, and to a lesser extent, the Republican state party's handling of the Holtzman debacles. Chairman Bob Martinez overstepped his bounds and unnecessarily fueled the underdog's 'anti-establishment' fire by calling on him to drop out of the race. While some narrow, diehard and disaffected Holtzman supporters may believe the state GOP 'machine' is out to crush them, the sad truth is that the party's apparent problems stem more from incompetence than conspiratorial mischief. That includes the State Assembly, and how the new credentialing and voting procedures were implemented." "denver 2006" 9:07:29 AM

Progress Now to Gigi Dennis: Recuse yourself Colorado Lib: "The person most likely to be Both Ways Bob Beauprez's runningmate is Secretary of State Gigi Dennis. The person overseeing the qualifying petition process of Beauprez's primary election opponent Marc Holtzman is also Secretary of State Gigi Dennis. I'm no fan of Marc Holtzman. In fact, he seems a bit, uh, nuts. But I know a conflict of interest when I see one." "denver 2006" 9:01:33 AM

Internet neutrality Curious Stranger: "I haven't up until now weighed in on the Net Neutrality fight going on between content providers - who are fighting for a guaranteed free ride with the help of their unwitting water-boys at MyDD and DailyKOS, and the big common carrier's, AT&T, Verizon, etc - who want to be able to manage their networks in a way that pays the bills and provides the most reliable service to their customers. The short version of the truth of this issue: Net Neutrality is a concept, not a rule of law, for the vast majority of consumer ISP's, and without careful consideration of what exactly it is we're trying to protect, introducing regulation to preserve something which doesn't exist will without a doubt lead to unintended consequences for the Internet and consumer costs. Way too far along in the conversation, Wired has finally come to their senses and published a reasonable take on the issue." "2008 pres" 8:56:16 AM

2006 election in Denver county Wash Park Prophet: "In many Colorado General Assembly races, the election is already essentially over, even though not a single primary has been held. About 19% of the General Assembly races in this election cycle are uncontested. Democratic Congresswoman from Denver Diana DeGette also has no major party opposition, nor does her Congressional District's Democratic party nominee to the State School Board. The View From My Precinct Indeed, where I live, the only races with major party contests I'll face at the ballot box in November are the statewide races for Governor, Secretary of State, Treasurer, Attorney General and CU Regent at Large." Welcome to Denver "denver 2006" 8:51:39 AM

Lawsuit over electronic voting machines Denver Post: "A nonprofit group filed a lawsuit Thursday to block the use of electronic voting machines in Colorado, saying they are unreliable, vulnerable to fraud and inaccessible to the disabled. The lawsuit makes Colorado the latest battlefront in a growing controversy over the use of the machines. The litigation has the potential to disrupt Colorado's August primary. 'There is a tsunami sweeping the United States right now of voter concern about the insecurity and unreliability of electronic voting systems,' said Lowell Finley, co-director of Voter Action, which filed the Denver suit with the Wheeler Trigg Kennedy LLP law firm. The lawsuit, filed in Denver District Court, names Colorado Secretary of State Gigi Dennis and officials in Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Douglas, Jefferson, La Plata, Larimer and Weld counties. If successful, it would bar the use of all electronic machines in the state." Here's the Voter Action press release. More coverage from the Cortez Journal. They write, "A group of Colorado voters has sued La Plata and eight other counties, claiming their electronic voting machines are vulnerable to fraud. Montezuma County is not named as a defendant, but if the plaintiffs are successful, the ruling would apply to all Colorado counties. The voters also sued Secretary of State Gigi Dennis for certifying machines made by Diebold Election Systems, Sequoia Voting Systems, ES&S and Hart InterCivic. All of the machines have serious flaws, but the Diebold machines used by La Plata County have the longest history of security problems, said Lowell Finley, a lawyer from the group Voter Action, which is supporting the suit and has filed cases in other states... "The lawsuit, filed in Denver District Court, asks the judge to forbid Colorado counties from using machines from the four companies. La Plata County took delivery of new Diebold machines last week, said County Clerk Linda Daley. The county is not replacing its current machines, which are also made by Diebold. Instead, it will use the new machines to help comply with laws on access for disabled people. But Noel Runyan, a blind engineer who will testify for the plaintiffs, said the machines Dennis certified are difficult for disabled people to use. He started scrutinizing voting machines a few years ago, after he had a series of problems in trying to vote in another state. He examined one machine he said 'looks so poorly put together that it really looks like a junior high school science project.' All Colorado counties have to update their voting equipment to comply with the Help America Vote Act, which was passed after the 2000 presidential election fiasco in Florida. The state certifies all the equipment and gives counties a list of eligible machines." "denver 2006" 8:28:42 AM

Election for governor Peter Blake brings us up to date on the Republican Governor's race in his column in today's Rocky Mountain News. He writes, "Secretary of State Gigi Dennis was already a likely pick as Bob Beauprez's running mate. Does her role in sparing him an expensive and divisive primary by bumping Marc Holtzman off the ballot increase her chances? Probably not. It might even work against her. That's because Beauprez would be accused of paying her off if he chose her. That wouldn't be a fair claim, of course. Dennis was merely doing what she had to do according to the laws governing petitions. It's a very public process, reviewable by the courts. But perception is reality in politics, and Beauprez might simply want to spare himself, and her, the inevitable flap. There's another reason Dennis, a former state senator from Pueblo, might not be chosen - even though she would provide geographical and gender balance. She's going to be very busy between now and Election Day supervising election preparations in 64 counties. That's a process complicated by the various demands of the Help America Vote Act, which requires the counties to go out and buy expensive new voting machines with unproven technology. If she's going to run her office right she won't have much time to campaign. And there's no point in having a running mate unless he or she is going to go to all the places you can't." Meanwhile Marc Holtzman vows to fight to a place on the primary ballot, according to the Rocky Mountain News. From the article, "A defiant Marc Holtzman vowed Friday to fight his way onto the Republican primary ballot, saying he has enough valid signatures to carry on his challenge to Congressman Bob Beauprez for the party's nomination for governor. 'Reports of my death are greatly exaggerated,' said Holtzman, paraphrasing Mark Twain... "Gov. Bill Owens and much of the Colorado Republican establishment breathed a sigh of relief, believing Holtzman's upstart campaign was at an end. Owens and most other Republican office holders are supporting Beauprez, and many of them see Holtzman's candidacy as a threat to Republican success in November. On Friday, Owens urged Holtzman - who once served in his cabinet as secretary of technology - to abandon his bid for governor and support Beauprez... "But Holtzman made it clear Friday he is not going away quietly. He said his campaign is certain they have enough valid signatures to qualify for the ballot, and they will spend the next several days making their case to Dennis. Holtzman insists that most of the 9,219 signatures that Dennis ruled were invalid are in fact legitimate, and he said that should more than make up for the 743 signatures he still needs to win a spot in the Aug. 8 primary." Mike Littwin weighs in on the Holtzman candidacy. He writes, "So let me clear one thing up. For those who thought and/or hoped the Republican gubernatorial primary race was over - and Bill Owens, friend and mentor to all, you know who you are - it's not. Holtzman will not go away. I don't know how anyone missed that. What defines Holtzman's campaign is its refusal to go away." Bob Beauprez and Bill Ritter are moving on, according to the Rocky Mountain News. From the article, "Ignoring Marc Holtzman's die-hard vow to fight on, the Bob Beauprez and Bill Ritter camps say they now consider it a two-man race for governor. But political analyst Eric Sondermann said the Republican Holtzman's refusal to "go quietly into that good night" has to be a nagging millstone for his GOP opponent Beauprez and a private pleasure for Democrat Ritter. While Ritter would never publicly acknowledge it, Sondermann said, the former Denver district attorney must be relishing the ongoing 'internecine Republican warfare.'" Here's the coverage from the Denver Post detailing Mary Estill Buchanan's fight to get on the ballot in 1980. They write, "He [Holtzman] lost at the state assembly. He doesn't have enough valid signatures. But don't count Marc Holtzman out yet. If Colorado history is any indication, the Republican gubernatorial candidate could still make the primary ballot - and win." According to the Denver Post, Bill Ritter is gaining some support from Republicans due to Bob Beauprez's stance on last year's Referendum C. From the article, "At least one already has jumped ship. 'I've withdrawn my support for Bob Beauprez and am supporting Bill Ritter,' said Loveland lawyer Bill Kaufman, who served as a Republican state representative for eight years. '(Beauprez) is 100 percent wrong on this issue. It's big enough to affect votes for him.' Kaufman, who also is a member of the state transportation commission, said he is prepared to back his endorsement of Ritter with money. He said other Larimer County Republicans will hold a news conference soon to publicly throw their support behind the former Denver district attorney. Other key business leaders said there is widespread discussion among Republicans who supported Referendum C about whether or not they could still support Beauprez. John Marshall, campaign manager for Beauprez, said the two- term congressman and former dairy farmer and banker has more in common with business leaders than any other gubernatorial candidate... "Ritter's campaign manager, Greg Kolomitz, said Ritter is doing everything possible to reach out to business leaders and has set up a series of business roundtables over the next two weeks. 'People see that Bill supported Referendum C and believes in investing in infrastructure and creating a healthy business climate,' he said. When asked what he thought about GOP business leaders appearing open to a Democrat, let alone one with little business experience, Kolomitz said: 'We live in interesting times.' Donald Kortz, chairman of Denver-based real estate firm Fuller & Co., said Beauprez's position is being discussed in area business circles." From Friday's Denver Post: "Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill Ritter on Thursday reported raising $201,066 from April 26 to May 25. That's up from the $156,000 he reported raising the previous month. To date, he has raised more than $1.3 million. The newest campaign finance reports are not due with the secretary of state until Monday, so the latest numbers from Republicans Bob Beauprez and Marc Holtzman are not yet available. In the last filing, Beauprez reported raising a total of $1.8 million to Holtzman's $1.4 million." "denver 2006" 8:05:43 AM

Cherokee in contempt? KRDOTV.com: "Lawyers for the Upper Black Squirrel Ground Water Management District say the Cherokee Water and Sanitation District is ignoring a judge's order to stop pumping water from several of its wells. Cherokee serves thousands of homes and businesses east of Powers Boulevard just outside the Colorado Springs City Limits. It imposed water rationing last month. Now News 13 has learned that Pueblo District Court Judge Dennis Maes will consider issuing a contempt of court order against Cherokee for continuing to pump wells it was ordered to shut down. In addition to the thousands of customers it already serves, Cherokee has committed to provide water for several new subdivisions that are either just now under construction or in the planning process." "colorado water" 7:05:32 AM

Immigration Here's an opinion piece about immigration written by Mike McGarry, the acting director of the Colorado Alliance for Immigration Reform, from today's Rocky Mountain News. From the article, "Fact: America is the most generous legal-immigrant-receiving country on Earth, admitting more immigrants each year than are admitted by all the countries of the world combined. Suppose the 12 million to 20 million illegals in the U.S., including Colorado's 250,000, were to dream up the ultimate boycott, a year-long vanishing act to show how 'essential' they are to the nation's and state's economies. So they all board a giant teleporter and beam up, from where they watch with satisfaction the wailing and gnashing of teeth of all those too unconnected to their surroundings to mow their own lawns, too irresponsible and presumptuous to raise the children they produce, too dull and uninspired to cook for themselves, and too gentrified to clean up after themselves." The other side of the debate is here. From the Rocky, "Front and center in the current immigration debate is the question of whether the immigrants of today somehow are different from the immigrants of our past. Even hard-line opponents of immigration acknowledge that ours is a country built by immigrants." "2008 pres" 6:58:58 AM

Farm disaster on the South Platte Boulder, Highlands Ranch, Sterling and some farmers who rely solely on the river's surface supplies have decided to lower the boom on the farmers whose wells were shut down last month by the State Engineer, according to the Rocky Mountain News. From the article, "Three Front Range cities and others worried about protecting their shares of South Platte River water Friday refused an emergency plan that would have allowed hundreds of irrigation wells to restart. The decision dooms millions of dollars of crops already in the ground. The well-dependent farmers and some water officials were stunned. 'It's tough news,' said Greg Hertzke, water-acquisitions manager for the Central Colorado Water Conservancy District, which represents the well owners. 'Really tough...'" "...this week, the powerful Colorado River Water Conservation District, which represents 15 Western Slope counties, signaled qualified support for the well owners, saying in a June 1 letter that it would not fight their emergency-relief plan, despite having serious concerns about the use of Western Slope water to solve the crisis... "Because of the shutdown Green Acres Turf Farm near Hudson will lose $3.5 million worth of sod, manager Raul Mota said. 'We've already begun telling customers they will need to look for other bids next year because we won't be able to supply them,' Mota said. 'I'm not even sure we'll be here.' Robert Geisick, a farmer outside Wiggins, said the well crisis has dried up 1,200 of the 2,400 acres he and his three brothers and their families farm. 'Half of our farm is shut down,' Geisick said. 'We spent $184,000 this year for nothing,' he added, referring to fees he has paid to comply with the new law and to plant an onion crop this year. Others farmers, however, have said the state has been too generous to the well owners, who've had three years to meet the requirements of the new law. Buying water rights and crafting an acceptable water plan often takes years to accomplish. Geitsick and hundreds of other well owners had been operating under a temporary plan that Simpson rejected this year, in part because drought conditions this spring reduced the river's flows and because water leases the well owners thought they had had lined up were withdrawn when spring water forecasts came in lower than expected... "Russell George, executive director of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources, said he is disappointed that a compromise between the well owners and their opponents couldn't be crafted, especially given the extraordinary effort it took to bring extra water from the Western Slope. 'There is water in the stream now,' George said. 'But, clearly, the objectors have no willingness to help, and that's too bad. The consequences of that decision rests with them.'" "colorado water" 6:53:22 AM

Say hello to drought, again Drought is back all across Colorado. Here's an article about the return from the Fort Collins Coloradoan. From the article, "It was hot in April and May. Dry, too. Hot enough to be the warmest combined April-May on record and dry enough that just one other year - 1963 - was drier, according to the Colorado Climate Center at Colorado State University. 'The big water supply we thought we had is not going to stretch near as far as we thought it would,' said Nolan Doesken, assistant state climatologist. The average high temperature during the two months was 72.6 degrees, beating 2000, 1985, 1992 and 1934. The spring turnaround after an above-average winter in the northern Colorado mountains has weather and water forecasters talking 2002, one of the driest summers on record. That year, however, April and May produced 3 inches of moisture in Fort Collins - about three times as much as the 1.09 inches this year, Doesken said. A hot spring has hastened snowmelt in the mountains. Snowpack that feeds the South Platte River basin, which includes Fort Collins, is expected to melt about three weeks earlier than normal, said Chris Pacheco, the assistant snow survey supervisor for the Natural Resources Conservation Service. It has also forced a dramatic rewrite of stream flow forecasts on the Cache la Poudre River. The NRCS, which initially projected 285,000 acre-feet of water to flow from that river between April and September, later revised that to 210,000 acre-feet and figures to downgrade it more next week, Pacheco said... "But area cities don't seem to be altering water-use strategies. Fort Collins water managers and Loveland still don't anticipate water restrictions for residents. Greeley, which had already planned to limit lawn watering to three days a week for its residents, probably won't tighten those restrictions, said Natalie Stevens, a promotions assistant in the city's water and sewer department. Healthy reservoir levels - one major difference between 2002 and 2006 - are one reason cities aren't in a hurry to limit water use. But reservoirs will probably diminish sooner than usual as users draw on their liquid bank accounts. That means reservoirs such as Horsetooth west of Fort Collins, currently near capacity, won't be for long. 'You're seeing people pulling storage water earlier than they ever have,' said Brian Werner, a spokesman for the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District, which manages Horsetooth." Here's another article about the drought from the Loveland Daily Reporter Herald. They write, "The water levels in Northern Colorado rivers are continuing to plummet this year, water suppliers say. The tributaries to the South Platte River dropped from 104 percent of average on April 1 to 64 percent of average June 1, said Brian Werner, spokesman for the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District. Locally, the Big Thompson River has dipped the most dramatically, plummeting from 102 percent of average on April 1 to 57 percent of average now." "colorado water" 6:40:09 AM

Duking it out on their own Grand Junction and Palisade are waiting for a decision on oil and gas drilling in their watersheds, according to the Casper Star Tribune. From the article, "Leaders in two western Colorado communities feeling the effects of the Rockies' energy boom say they don't oppose natural gas drilling -- they just don't want it in their watersheds. Palisade and Grand Junction are waiting for decisions on their formal protests of federal oil and gas leases on land that supplies their drinking water or borders the sites... "Mel Lloyd, spokeswoman for the BLM office in Grand Junction, has heard complaints that some areas should be off limits to drilling. Her response is that Congress has directed the BLM to develop the nation's energy resources. 'We're mandated to look at every available acreage that's been evaluated and allowed for development under our resource management plans,' Lloyd said... "The Bureau of Land Management auctioned thousands of acres in their watersheds in February despite the cities' objections and requests from Colorado Sen. Ken Salazar and Congressman John Salazar to withdraw the leases. The leases are on hold while the BLM considers the objections, but Palisade and Grand Junction are looking ahead in case energy companies start drilling holes in the ground. They've talked to state and federal officials and written letters detailing their concerns and suggestions. They've met with other local governments and are organizing more forums. The two communities are also weighing their legal options if moves are made to drill natural gas owned by the federal government. The land lying over the minerals is owned by Palisade and Grand Junction... "Palisade and Grand Junction officials said they're not reassured. Greg Trainor, Grand Junction's utilities manager, said the city believed agreements it has with BLM on resource management on the Grand Mesa would protect the watersheds on the large flattop mountain that towers over the communities. After realizing that the land was going on the auction block, Grand Junction bid on a handful of parcels, including the tract where several springs are tapped for drinking water. Trainor, who represented the city, dropped out of the bidding when the price hit $300 an acre. Trainor said surrounding tracts went for only $20 to $40 an acre. He said he doesn't know which energy companies the buyer was representing. As the communities battle to protect their water, they are tapping all available resources, including Palisade's watershed protection ordinance and federal drinking water laws. Trainor said he would like to see the state health department actively support the communities... "The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment can't prevent the BLM from approving drilling, said Steve Gunderson, director of the state water quality control division. The division, however, does have say over impacts on surface water. Gunderson said the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission regulates drilling and works closely with the health department on protecting groundwater. He said the Colorado Water Quality Control Commission would intervene if safeguards weren't adequate. Palisade Mayor Doug Edwards said he's not convinced the BLM and other agencies have the staff and time to keep up with the escalating pace of drilling. He's worried about the potential fouling of drinking water and possible damage to the new $6 million water treatment plant the town will start building this summer." "colorado water" 6:21:40 AM

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