Coyote Gulch

Sunday, August 20, 2006

Libertarians fed up with Republican party?
John Aloysius Farrell (via the Denver Post): "It has taken libertarians some time to figure it out. For years they've been having their pockets picked by honey-voiced Republicans vowing to end Big Government. Like their odd bedfellows in the Republican coalition - the religious conservatives who have waited more than 30 years for the GOP to legislate wholesomeness - the libertarians thought they had no alternative. Surely, the Republicans were better than the Democrats. But now the results are in, and inescapable. The outcome of Republican control has been everything Democrats were known for, and libertarians profess to abhor: wasteful government spending, titanic new bureaucracies, federal intrusion in private matters, elective war and a metastasizing national security state.

"Now that Republicans have spent a decade in charge of Congress and five controlling the White House, the federal cesspool that the party vowed to drain 'feels less like a cesspool than a hot tub,' said Stephen Slivinski, the director of budget studies at the Cato Institute. 'Republicans just don't act like the party of Goldwater or Reagan anymore,' he told his fellow libertarians at the think tank here last week. The era of Big Government isn't over, as Bill Clinton once professed. 'It's been replaced by something far worse,' said Slivinski, 'the era of Super-Sized Government - and for that we have Republicans to thank.'[...]

"Given complete control, the GOP has failed, Slivinski argues. The party embraced the expediency of Richard Nixon, and climbed under the sheets with venal special interests and corrupt lobbyists. Like the corrupt political machines of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, he says, the party's over-arching purpose is now self-perpetuation, whatever the cost. 'Cutting government spending now runs contrary to Republican political aims,' Slivinski writes. 'Today the GOP is so closely aligned with the mechanisms of Big Government that it finds itself unable and unwilling to shut the contraption down. The corruption scandals that have afflicted the Republican Party ... are a natural by-product.'[...]

"Washington is most restrained - militarily and fiscally - when power is divided among the parties, Slivinski argues: In the course of American history, the country has more frequently gone to war under one-party government, and 'united government gives us government that grows twice as fast.' One need look no further back than 1994, when the Republicans captured the House of Representatives and lay siege to Clinton's Oval Office. A divided Washington cut the government's share of the gross domestic product from 20.7 percent to 18.4 percent, and balanced the federal budget. Then the Republicans won the White House. 'This trend was reversed almost immediately after George W. Bush's inaugural parade,' Slivinski writes. 'Together Bush and the Republican Congress managed to expand government spending to 20.8 percent of GDP in 2006. By this standard, they have effectively overturned the Republican Revolution.' For his fellow libertarians, Slivinski has some startling advice: Clap term limits on Republican incumbents, and elect enough Democrats to ensure divided government."

Thanks to the Colorado Lib for the link.
"2008 pres"
9:36:55 AM

Dem convention in Denver?

Here's an update on the contest to host the 2008 Democratic Convention, from the Denver Post. They write, "The three cities vying to host the 2008 Democratic National Convention will have to show fundraising commitments as the national officials look to narrow their choice to two next month. Denver, Minneapolis-St. Paul and New York have proved they can meet the basic logistical needs to host more than 30,000 delegates when they nominate the party's next presidential candidate. But whichever city is chosen will have to raise tens of millions of dollars. As the three cities entertained the Democratic National Committee delegates at the Hilton Chicago this weekend, they heard from national officials that it is time to prove their fundraising muster."
"2008 pres"
9:22:10 AM

Fountain Creek management

What is the long-term picture for Fountain Creek? The Pueblo Chieftain looks at the creek and it's problems. From the article, "As growth occurs upstream and here in Pueblo County, the long-term local and regional problems associated with the pollution of the watershed, along Fountain Creek, are likely to get worse. Efforts are currently underway in Colorado Springs and here in Pueblo to repair aging sewer lines to prevent future spills from occurring. The health department knows how important Fountain Creek is to the citizens of Pueblo, and is taking an active role, both locally and regionally, to address Pueblo citizens' public health concerns. Permanent warning signs at access points along Fountain Creek have been posted. A spill-response plan has been developed in cooperation with Colorado Springs Utilities so residents can be quickly notified in the event of a sewage spill. Water sampling for E. coli is also being done at multiple sites along Fountain Creek and the Arkansas River. The public will be notified when bacterial levels are high, such as after last month's rainstorms. Sampling will continue through 2007 to keep the public aware of future health risks...

"Regionally, many groups are involved in examining the problems on Fountain Creek. Friends of the Fountain, an advocacy group, has been meeting for over a year in order to look at issues, such as erosion control and having the creek declared a wildlife sanctuary. They have brought in speakers and linked with elected officials to attempt to address these problems. The Eastside Neighborhood Association, Sierra Club, and the Colorado Progressive Coalition are other groups interested in solving issues surrounding the creek."
"colorado water"
9:08:55 AM

Stonewall Springs project

Here's an article about the proposed Stonewall Springs project in the Arkansas River basin, from the Pueblo Chieftain. They write, "A Colorado Springs developer who wants to develop water storage and hydroelectric power generation on private land says his plan is meant to meet projected shortfalls in supply and could complement rather than compete with other projects. Mark Morley has filed an application for pump-back hydroelectric power generation with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and is seeking a hydroelectric water right in Division 2 water court at two new reservoirs envisioned near Brush Hollow Reservoir at Penrose. In addition, he wants to build a reservoir at Stonewall Springs near the Pueblo Chemical Depot east of Pueblo that could deliver water through pipelines to the north and even by gravity to the east. Morley said the Stonewall Springs project could meet increased municipal demand in the Colorado Springs area, help Eastern Plains communities get higher quality water and provide a way for farmers to market some of their water...

"H2O Water Providers LLC - Morley, his brother Jim and their financial partners - filed their application with FERC in July. The Morleys own about 6,000 acres near Brush Hollow Reservoir and plan to generate electricity by running water from two new reservoirs to an 'afterbay' on land they own near the Arkansas River. They also hold some water rights associated with the land purchases, but not significant in terms of filling the new reservoirs. Turbines that generate power could be reversed to pump water into the reservoirs during off-peak hours, similar to the way the Bureau of Reclamation operates the Mount Elbert generating station at Twin Lakes, Morley said. In addition, electricity could be generated as water from the reservoirs was returned to the river, generating revenue for customers, Morley said. Two new earthen dams capable of storing 58,000 acre-feet of water would be built north of Penrose. The afterbay would be a smaller, lined 'hole in the ground' about 200 acres across and 50 feet deep. Two 180- to 220-megawatt pump turbines capable of generating 280,800 to 457,600 megawatt-hours of electricity annually would be part of the project. Morley estimates the cost of building the reservoirs would be $87 million, while the power generation component would be $220 million. His plans for Stonewall Springs are less concrete. The reservoir would have a capacity between 28,000 and 50,000 acre-feet, Morley said...

"Objectors are Florence, Canon City, Pueblo Board of Water Works, Colorado Springs, Aurora, the Bureau of Land Management, Beaver Park Water, Penrose Water District and several landowners."
"colorado water"
8:55:49 AM

Hook and Bullet Crowd

Oil and gas development is attracting wide opposition across Colorado (and the West), especially around Rifle and the Roan Plateau, according to the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel. From the article, "The fight to protect the Roan Plateau and Colorado's roadless areas from energy development has strayed beyond the realm of environmentalists and traditional wilderness advocates. The 'hook and bullet' crowd - hunters, anglers, outfitters and other sportsmen - are now claiming wildland protection as their territory, a development that's being noticed by the energy industry and politicians all over Colorado and the West. The fate of the Roan Plateau and roadless areas on Battlement Mesa is a personal issue for outfitters such as lifelong Republican Jeff Mead, owner of Rifle-based Mamm Peaks Outfitters. Since gas rigs began drilling near Mead's hunting grounds, he said he's lost nearly $70,000 in business because gas development is driving away Battlement Mesa's big game...

"Conservationists have fought for years to protect the Roan Plateau, which is rich not only in natural gas, but also in oil shale. More development is on the way for the Roan: 21 additional permits to drill have been issued for private land on the plateau, said Commission hearings manager Tricia Beaver. Below the Roan Plateau's dramatic southern rim, which towers over Parachute and Rifle, the landscape bustles with natural gas drilling activity - something Western Slope residents have become accustomed to in recent years. But fears that potential natural gas development will mean the end to hunting, fishing and wilderness on many public lands throughout the West have drawn together a diverse crowd of sportsmen and environmentalists who are fighting energy development affecting public wildlands. Mead and other sportsmen have teamed up with environmental groups such as the Carbondale-based Wilderness Workshop and the Colorado Mountain Club to protect the state's roadless areas from development. Elsewhere, sportsmen are joining forces with the Wilderness Society and the Sierra Club...

"Mead said his alliance with the Wilderness Workshop has worked, and he gets along well with environmentalists. 'As long as we don't get the extremists involved - some people who don't think you should tie a horse to a tree in the high country,' he said. 'On this gas issue, we're seeing eye to eye.' Natural gas development on Battlement Mesa, which will ultimately determine the viability of his outfitting business, is the fly in his Republican ointment. 'The way it's looking right now, the head of the Republican Party is not doing so good as far as I'm concerned,' he said, referring to President George W. Bush. Mead said Bush's attitude toward wilderness protection doesn't square with his personal conservation ethic. That's what inspired Mead to show up at the June 21 Roadless Area Review Task Force meeting in Glenwood Springs and, while sitting next to Wilderness Workshop Executive Director Sloan Shoemaker, vehemently ask the task force to recommend to Gov. Bill Owens that all of the state's roadless areas be protected from development. Shoemaker said Wednesday the 'hook and bullet crowd's' willingness to speak so loudly in favor of public lands protection is simple: Hunters and anglers participate in recreation to get away from the political process. But now, to maintain that way of life, they are thrust into politics because public lands policies are conflicting with recreation. Trout Unlimited's David Petersen, also a member of the Roadless Area Review Task Force, said he wasn't surprised when outfitters such as Mead had strong words in favor of protecting roadless areas at the task force's public comment meetings. 'They don't see themselves first and foremost as environmentalists,' Petersen said. 'These guys are being put out of business by (energy development), so it wasn't hard to get their attention.'"
"2008 pres"
8:34:22 AM

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