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Monday, July 31, 2006
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Iran
The Moderate Voice: "The French Foreign Minister calls Iran a 'stabilizing' influence on the mid-east. What did they put in his baguette, I wonder?"
"2008 pres"
6:09:19 PM 
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BlogHer 2006
Chris Nolan: "To judge from what happened in San Jose this weekend - the BlogHer conference - MommyBlogging is the next thing in female-to-female communication."
6:08:06 PM
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Bayh for president?
Political Wire: "At the request of Sen. Evan Bayh (D-IN), 'the Hoosier members of the Democratic National Committee plan to vote against a proposed change in the 2008 presidential primary schedule,' according to the Indianapolis Star."
"2008 pres"
5:57:57 PM
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Stupid is as stupid does
Mark Noonan: "It is because we pretend the stupid are worth listening to - well, really, its not even that: the MSM pretends the stupid are worth listening to, and so we get a lot of stupid people presented in the MSM as if they weren't stupid." [Got that? - ed.]
"2008 pres"
5:54:41 PM
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Richardson for president?
Bill Richardson: "This is my first diary on Daily Kos and it couldn't have come at a more important time. As the world's only superpower and its greatest hope for the future, America holds incredible promise. The challenges we face offer new opportunities for peace, security and prosperity. Yesterday Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist said, 'We're for staying the course in Iraq and the war on terror.' But as the world faces crises on multiple fronts - from oil prices to Lebanon, Iraq to North Korea - it is time for our country to chart a new course. The threats of nuclear proliferation, terrorism, and international Jihadism grow daily. Our great military, bogged down in Iraq, cannot meet every threat alone."
"2008 pres"
6:32:22 AM
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Cancer research
Political Wire: "The Des Moines Register highlights one potential issue for candidates in 2008: cancer research. Lance Armstrong visited Iowa recently to promote funding for cancer research, and the American Cancer Society plans a major lobbying push. President Bush's recent budget calls for a $40 million dollar cut from the National Cancer Institute, and the reduction has already become an issue on the campaign trail - especially since at least four of the candidates, from both parties, have been diagnosed with cancer in the past (Kerry, Giuliani, McCain, and Brownback). Several others have seen family members battle cancer. In fact, John Edwards' wife Elizabeth has a new book coming out about her fight with breast cancer."
"2008 pres"
6:22:33 AM
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Israel
Bull Moose: "And the world must also get serious about the ultimate instigator of this war - Iran. Hizbollah is merely a franchise of Tehran and Damascus. At the moment, the mullahs and the tyrant of Syria must be gloating. In Israel, there will be a necessary debate over whether Prime Minister Olmert devised the right strategy by rejecting a large invasion and relying primarily on an air war."
Juan Cole: "Western and Israeli pundits keep comparing Hizbullah to al-Qaeda. It is a huge conceptual error. There is a crucial difference between an international terrorist network like al-Qaeda, which can be disrupted by good old policing techniques (such as inserting an agent in the Western Union office in Karachi), and a sub-nationalist movement. Al-Qaeda is some 5,000 multinational volunteers organized in tiny cells. Hizbullah is a mass expression of subnationalism that has the loyalty of some 1.3 million highly connected and politically mobilized peasants and slum dwellers. Over a relatively compact area. I take sub-nationalism as a concept from Anthony D. Smith. It would be most familiar to Western readers under the rubric of the Irish Catholics of North Ireland, or even the Scots of the UK. Subnationalism, like the larger, over-arching nationalism, is a mass movement."
"2008 pres"
6:06:25 AM
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Sales tax for early childhood education?
Mayor Hickenlooper announced an early childhood initiative in the State of the City speech on July 12th. According to the Denver Post, passage of the new tax may not be a slam dunk.
From the article, "A proposed sales tax for early childhood education has Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper once again facing concern that voters may reach their taxation limit. Hickenlooper has been unstoppable backing initiatives since he took office - he is, at worst, 11-1 counting Referendum D's failure in 2005. But the sales tax initiative that the City Council will consider tonight - along with a desire among city officials for a bond issue to help with the city's $300 million capital projects backlog - has renewed skepticism that the mayor can continue to persuade Denver residents to raise taxes...
"Lynea Hansen, the spokeswoman for the Mayor's Leadership Team on Early Childhood Education, said the proposal is much improved over the previous kids tax initiatives, which were perceived as vague. This proposal is targeted specifically for 4-year-olds - the age before children enter kindergarten. And it's cheaper. The current proposal would be a 12-cent tax on every $100 spent. It would collect $12 million a year, where the previous efforts planned for $30 million...
"The proposal would raise funds for child-care tuition credits for families and improvement funds for providers. Credits would be distributed based on need and the quality of the preschool program. Parents could choose any state-licensed preschool program."
Correction: Coyote Gulch incorrectly reported (during coverage of the SOC speech) that the tax was to be a hike in property tax.
"denver 2006"
5:56:00 AM
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Internet neutrality
Here's an article about Internet Neutrality from the Rocky Mountain News. From the article, "Net neutrality is the notion that the companies that control the broadband pipes - such as Comcast and Qwest Communications in much of Colorado - should treat all Internet content providers the same. Without such a law, proponents argue, certain Internet companies could be discriminated against, forced to pay more or blocked from gaining access at all, and be driven out of business. Consumers could find certain Web sites blocked or slower to get to...
"Opponents say Net neutrality proponents are creating a crisis that doesn't exist. They say they endorse the principle of allowing consumers to go anywhere on the Internet. But carriers say they should be allowed to charge content providers more for special or speedier delivery if they want, and that will help raise the money needed to increase Internet capacity and create additional innovative services for consumers."
"2008 pres"
5:40:23 AM
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Big Thompson Flood
Here's another installment in the story of the Big Thompson Flood from the The Loveland Daily Reporter-Herald. They write, "A year's worth of rain in about four hours caused what is normally a year's worth of deaths nationally from flooding in one night.
But what is even more striking about the July 31, 1976, disaster is how community members and leaders applied their creativity to rebuild the Big Thompson Canyon. Long after the helicopters left, the water subsided and crews picked up the major debris, those involved forged ahead. It took years before officials rebuilt the highway, water distribution systems, bridges and the city's hydroelectric plant. Still today, the county is working to sort out future ownership and maintenance on some of the properties hit hardest by the flood...
"For some, the cleanup and rebuilding effort reverberates even today. Larimer County still is sorting through how to sell or maintain the 153 canyon parcels it bought in the flood's wake, said Gary Buffington, county parks and open lands director. In 1978, the county purchased properties that a board determined were not buildable, using $1.7 million in National Park Service conservation funds. Since then, some parcels were consolidated and turned into four canyon parks: The Narrows, Sleepy Hollow, The Forks and Glade Park. Now, the county is considering using six sites as recreational pull-offs and selling about 60 lots. Current and former canyon residents would get the first pick, Buffington said."
"colorado water"
5:29:16 AM
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© Copyright 2009 John Orr.
Last update: 3/14/09; 8:25:32 PM.
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