| |
|
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
|
|
Clinton for president?
Political Insider: "While it may seem contrary to conventional wisdom that a Democratic ticket of a woman and an African-American would be unbeatable, Republican insiders are starting to worry about a Hillary Clinton-Barack Obama ticket. GOP advisers close to both John McCain and Rudy Giuliani fear Clinton would start with a base of about 250 electoral votes -- Democrats' minimum in the last four elections -- and that Obama would push Ohio and a few other states into the 'leans Democratic' column."
Thanks to Political Wire for the link.
"2008 pres"
7:23:46 PM 
|
|
Energy policy
Denver Business Journal: "The Metro Denver Economic Development Corp. (EDC) on Wednesday launched the Colorado Energy Coalition (CEC), a group of leaders and others with stakes in the energy industry who hope to raise Colorado's status in the energy sector."
"2008 pres"
7:16:44 PM
|
|
Iraq
Jason Horowitz (via the New York Observer): "So now that the Democrats have won control of Congress, what should they do about the war in Iraq?
"'I never understand that question,' answered Charlie Rangel, the incoming chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. 'You have a President that's in deep sh*t. He got us into the war, and all the reasons he gave have been proven invalid, and the whole electorate was so pissed off that they got rid of anyone they could have, and then they ask, what is the Democrats solution?"
Thanks to Political Wire for the link.
Opinions You Should Have: "President Bush decided to defer a decision on when he will decide on a new approach to the Iraq war until 'some time next year,' although he has not decided exactly when his deciding will take place."
"2008 pres"
6:30:47 PM
|
|
Kucinich for president?
TalkLeft: "Dennis Kucinich, whom I think has just about the best stand on criminal justice issues of any of the presidential contenders, has announced he will run for President again in 2008. A long shot? Very. But his voice is an important one and I'm glad it's going to be heard again...provided the national press decides to include him in their coverage."
"2008 pres"
7:01:45 AM
|
|
Dodd for president?
Political Wire: "'If I had to make a decision in the next thirty seconds, I'd say, let's go.' -- Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-CT), quoted by the AP, on whether he will run for president. He said he'll make a final decision after the holidays."
"2008 pres"
6:56:50 AM
|
|
Iraq
Hotline On Call: "One of the more fascinating ideas about what the WH should do re: Iraq comes from the always-thinking-about-retiring GOP consultant Mike Murphy. In a L.A. Times op-ed today, Murphy advises Pres. Bush to expand his war cabinet to include Dems, specifically the incoming Senate/House cmte heads of Armed Services and Intelligence. Murphy contends the country (and Bush) desperately needs to find some bipartisan solution on Iraq.
"But what makes this op-ed facinating is not what Murphy writes but what he doesn't write. Murphy is a one-time political aide to both John McCain and Mitt Romney, two of the three frontrunners for the WH '08 GOP nod. And his op-ed seems to scream, 'PRES. BUSH, STOP IRAQ FROM BEING A REPUBLICAN WAR!' The op-ed doesn't specifically say this, but the message is implied."
Thanks to the Daily Kos for the link.
"2008 pres"
6:55:25 AM
|
|
Special election to decide Election Commission governance?
From today's Denver Post: "It's naive to think the city could run a special election next month to reform Denver's troubled Election Commission, an expert on Mayor John Hickenlooper's investigative task force said Tuesday. 'One month to put together an election is clearly, clearly out of touch with reality in today's election world,' Larimer County Clerk and Recorder Scott Doyle said of a proposal Monday from a City Council committee. The recommendation is just one of several that Denver officials will get from several sources over the next few days. Tonight, a panel appointed by Hickenlooper in the wake of November's problem-plagued election is expected to come up with its recommendations."
"denver 2007"
6:36:03 AM
|
|
Dem convention in Denver?
Who would benefit the most if Howard Dean decides to bring the 2008 Democratic National Convention to Denver? Some think it would be Hillary Clinton, according to the Rocky Mountain News. From the article, "A decision on which city will host the 2008 convention could come this week, and politicians such as Clinton and Sen. Ken Salazar, D- Colo., have been pushing for their home states. Ironically, many analysts say that of the leading contenders, Clinton might get the biggest boost from a Denver convention. To win, a Democratic presidential nominee must reach out beyond the party's base in the Northeast and on the West Coast. That's especially true for a senator from New York. Political analyst Jennifer Duffy, of The Cook Political Report, said that Clinton can't count on any big boost from a hometown convention in New York City. She noted that Sen. John Kerry, of Massachusetts, was nominated in Boston, a choice that made it easier for his opponents to paint him as an out-of-touch 'Massachusetts liberal.'"
Meanwhile Colorado Confidential predicts Denver will be Dean's choice and lists the ten top reasons why Dean is going to pick Denver for the DNC convention instead of New York City.
"2008 pres"
6:33:29 AM
|
|
Merry Christmas from ICE
Federal agents conducted a sweep of several meat packing plants around the country yesterday, including Colorado. Here's an article about the operation from the Rocky Mountain News. They write, "Federal agents raided six Swift & Co. meat-processing plants in Colorado and five other states Tuesday, rounding up hundreds of workers as part of a nationwide investigation into identify theft involving suspected illegal immigrants. The sweeps stirred dramatic scenes inside and outside the plants, where operations ceased and workers' relatives gathered, some holding immigration documents, others fretting about who would pick up children, oblivious to their parents' fate, from school. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, packing bundles of handcuffs, swept through the plants as part of a nearly yearlong investigation into several identity- theft rings. Agents said workers were being arrested on immigration charges and, in some cases, on criminal warrants...
"In Washington, ICE chief Julie L. Myers said agents were looking 'very aggressively' at who might have sold the identities to workers. Opponents of illegal immigration, including some members of Colorado's congressional delegation, cheered the raid and urged ICE to go after Swift officials if they knowingly hired illegal immigrants or those with false documents. There was no indication of any charges against Swift officials Tuesday, although agents did interview plant representatives, including general managers and others, a Swift official said Tuesday. Swift, headquartered in Greeley, describes itself as the world's second-largest processor of fresh beef and pork. Raids also were carried out at Swift facilities in Worthington, Minn.; Grand Island, Neb.; Cactus, Texas; Hyrum, Utah; and Marshalltown, Iowa."
Captains Quarters: "The Department of Homeland Security raided six Swift processing plants yesterday in an effort to end the theft of legitimate Social Security numbers by illegal immigrants. The meatpacker complained bitterly about the raids, but sounded defensive over an issue for which they have no blame."
"2008 pres"
6:28:27 AM
|
|
Steve Berry: Save the (Pikes Peak) parsley
Colorado Springs Utilities has issued written rules detailing access to the south side of Pikes Peak, according to the Colorado Springs Gazette. From the article, "Outdoor groups are crying foul over Colorado Springs Utilities' proposed rules for access to the city's 28 reservoirs, complaining there won't be any access to the South Slope of Pikes Peak. Last week the city-owned utility unveiled a draft watershed access policy designed to protect the city's water supply. The plan divides watersheds into three zones: zones closed to the public, zones open to the public and trail corridors through closed zones. City officials fear a fire on the South Slope could cause massive pollution to small reservoirs - pollution that would take years to reverse, because there would be no way to quickly flush out the little lakes...
"At the heart of the access issue is the South Slope watershed, a 45,000-acre basin on the south side of Pikes Peak that has been off-limits since 1913. Access to the South Slope dominated conversation at a Nov. 28 public meeting when the draft access plan was first revealed to the public. For years, groups of citizens have campaigned for various levels of recreation in the area, from foot trails to fishing to motorized access. Recreation advocates have noted other utilities, including in Denver, opened watersheds to recreation long ago and that the city's North Slope reservoirs have been open to the public for years without problems. Maps in the newly released draft plan show no access to the South Slope...
"The utility must be conservative about access to South Slope watersheds, said Berry, citing three reasons: The reservoirs contain 20 percent of the city's water and increased human contact could contaminate them; Human-caused wildfires could cause severe erosion that would cripple the area's water-storage ability, as the Hayman fire did to Denver's Cheesman Reservoir; The area has several sensitive species, including greenback cutthroat trout and the Pikes Peak parsley, that could be damaged by human contact."
"colorado water"
6:14:33 AM
|
|
Colorado and Kansas: Group hug
You can almost feel the love between Kansas and Colorado over water in the Arkansas River, according to the Pueblo Chieftain. From the article, "Cooperation between Kansas and Colorado will go a long way toward preventing future legal entanglements, members of the Arkansas River Compact Administration said Tuesday. 'We've gone a long way this year toward resolving issues, and the credit has to go to both states,' said Chairman Robert Jennison of Healy, Kan. Representatives from both states agreed. Lawyers on both sides said U.S. Supreme Court Special Master Arthur Littleworth is close to ruling on a proposed final decree. A special engineering committee resolved several issues about operations at John Martin Reservoir. Kansas even voiced strong support of a tamarisk-control project being spearheaded by the Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District. 'If we had a process like this in place earlier, we might have avoided the pain and anguish of the past decade,' said Rod Kuharich, executive director of the Colorado Water Conservation Board and chairman of Colorado's delegation on the compact...
"The board administers the compact, signed in 1949, but issues on how the states share water from the river go back more than a century. In 1986, Kansas filed a lawsuit with the U.S. Supreme Court claiming Colorado violated the compact. In 1995, the court found Colorado well-pumping violated the compact, after ruling earlier against Kansas claims on Trinidad Reservoir and the winter water storage program. During the past year, Colorado paid an additional $1.1 million to Kansas, on top of the $34.6 million settlement in 2005. The money was less than the $10 million Kansas had requested for expert witness fees and other costs associated with the Supreme Court case...
"The administration voted to continue a special engineering committee that resolved four issues of how water is stored at John Martin Reservoir. Those issues are: How the evaporation rate on the permanent pool will be established; How storage accounts for winter water storage are charged; How transfers are made to certain storage accounts; How spills from John Martin will be accounted for between the two states."
"colorado water"
5:59:26 AM
|
|
Fountain Creek lawsuit
Colorado Springs has hoped to get Pueblo and the Sierra Club to drop their lawsuit over Fountain Creek, on the grounds that the city does not have jurisdiction, since the Water Quality Control Commission is involved. Here's an article explaining Pueblo's side of the story from the Pueblo Chieftain. They write, "The sickness of a firefighter after searching Fountain Creek for a missing boy's body. The contamination of a historic farm on the banks of the creek. The fear of disease causing hikers and bicyclists to avoid paths along the creek. Those are among many reasons Pueblo County District Attorney Bill Thiebaut contends he has a legal basis for suing Colorado Springs for pollution of the creek. The city contends U.S. District Judge Walker Miller should throw out the district attorney's lawsuit because he purportedly doesn't have a legally required basis to bring it. In a new 26-page court filing, Thiebaut tries to convince the judge otherwise...
"The district attorney argues, among other things, he is representing the firefighter, the farm, hikers and bicyclists, among others affected by pollution from spills of Colorado Springs' raw sewage into the creek. Thiebaut's filing contends he, as district attorney, and the Office of District Attorney, as a law enforcement agency, are 'authorized to protect the health, safety and welfare of the people of Colorado.' He asks Miller to enter a judgment without a trial (a summary judgment) that Colorado Springs is liable for violating the federal Clean Water Act. Then the district attorney wants the judge to conduct a trial to determine court orders to remedy the spills and penalties for them...
"Thiebaut disputes Colorado Springs' contention that his lawsuit is precluded by the Clean Water Act. The city makes that contention on grounds that the act purportedly bars suits such as his, and a similar suit by the Sierra Club, because the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment already has taken enforcement actions supposedly for the same violations alleged in the lawsuits. The district attorney says the city's contention is wrong because he gave notice of his intent to sue, as the law requires, before the state agency began any final administrative penalty actions. Thiebaut disputes Colorado Springs' contention that he does not have the right to sue as an official because he had not asserted that he personally has been injured in any way by the spills. In rebuttal, he said that as an official he has "suffered injury in fact by having to expend monetary and human resources" to protect health and the environment through his lawsuit. The district attorney argues that the fact that Colorado Springs has spilled sewage, allegedly excessive chlorine and nonpotable water into the creek many times over the years is sufficient for the judge to enter a judgment of liability against the city. Sierra makes the same argument."
"colorado water"
5:52:42 AM
|
|
Using GRACE to measure water supplies
Coyote Gulch loves the science around water issues. Here's a report about declines in fresh water from Reuters. Scientists are using two orbiting satellites from the, Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE), to measure water around the planet.
From the article, "A pair of orbiting satellites have surveyed the Earth's water in unprecedented detail, showing sharp decreases in parts of Africa over the past five years, scientists said on Tuesday. 'This is the first time we have been able to track these variations," Jay Famiglietti, an Earth system sciences professor at the University of California, Irvine, told the fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union. 'It's a very sensitive indicator of climate change.' By detecting the gravitation pull of water, the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment, or GRACE, launched in 2002, measures water both above and below the Earth's surface, amounts that are in constant flux. The nearly five-year-old partnership between NASA and the German Aerospace Center has found that over a three-year period water storage along the Congo River Basin has decreased by nearly double the amount Africans consume annually, excluding irrigation, Famiglietti said. The GRACE data also found drying along the Zambezi and Nile basins in Africa, and increases along the American Mississippi and Colorado River basins."
"colorado water"
5:46:14 AM
|
|
|
© Copyright 2009 John Orr.
Last update: 3/14/09; 8:53:03 PM.
|
|
|
