Coyote Gulch

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

? for U.S. Senate
Grand Junction Daily Sentinel: "Former Republican Congressman Scott McInnis is worried about the repercussions of Attorney General John Suthers running for the U.S. Senate in 2008, a campaign staff member confirmed Monday.

"Susan Smith, spokeswoman for the former Grand Junction Congressman and 2008 Senate hopeful, said McInnis is worried about the consequences of Suthers leaving his position as the state's top law enforcement officer either to run for office or after his election.

"Both scenarios would clear the way for Gov. Bill Ritter to make a Democratic appointment to the vacated seat."

Thanks to Colorado Pols for the link.
"denver 2008"
6:19:04 PM

Stem cell research
CQ.com: "The director of the National Institutes of Health said Monday that the nation would be better served if federally funded scientists had access to new colonies of embryonic stem cells for research. Elias Zerhouni, testifying at a Senate Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Subcommittee hearing, separated himself from the Bush administration's position on such research and perhaps put himself on a path toward unemployment. Responding to a question from subcommittee Chairman Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, about whether he believes scientists would have a greater opportunity to discover cures for diseases if President Bush's funding restrictions were lifted, Zerhouni said, 'I think the answer is yes.'"

Thanks to Oliver Willis for the link.
"2008 pres"
6:11:09 PM

Global warming: The Earth is a beautifully complex system

Colorado Confidential caught up with University of Colorado geographer Mark Serreze to talk about the article in Science Magazine about Arctic Sea Ice and climate in the Western U.S. From the article, "Serreze told Colorado Confidential, 'All the studies are saying that the sea ice matters.' Changes in Arctic ice mean changes in climate dynamics that can have wide-ranging consequences.

"'Basically, if you lose the sea ice, you're radically changing the surface conditions,' Serreze says. 'What was highly reflective ice is now replaced with dark open water. The polar regions absorb more heat. So they start to evaporate more water, and there is more water vapor in the atmosphere.' This is where many storm and precipitation patterns originate."
"2008 pres"
6:05:34 PM

Iraq
Iraq the Model: "The Al-bu Issa tribes in Amiriyat al-Fallujah, backed by local police and the MNF, clashed today with members of the al-Qaeda linked 'Islamic State in Iraq' terror organization, according to al-Hurra TV.

"The battles that are still ongoing have so far left 39 terrorists killed including the 'ministers of oil and war' of the terror organization. Six policemen and 11 tribal fighters were also killed during the fighting."
"2008 pres"
6:00:14 PM

? for President?
The Right's Field: "McCain Clubbed for Growth"

Pollster.com: "Additional results from two recent Rasmussen Reports automated surveys find: Among 599 likely Republican primary voters, former Mayor Rudy Giuliani (at 33%) leads Sen. John McCain (15%), former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (13%), and former Gov. Mitt Romney (10%) in a national primary (conducted 3/12 through 15); Among 800 likely voters, Sen. John McCain and Sen. Barack Obama both run at 44% in a national general election match-up (conducted 3/14 through 3/15). In February, both candidates were also tied at 44%."

Political Wire: "A Gallup analysis of Republicans' primary nomination preferences 'shows Rudy Giuliani the leader among conservative and liberal and moderate Republicans, though his support is stronger among moderates than conservatives.'

"Sen. John McCain 'is second among both groups and fares better among moderates than conservatives. Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney get greater support among conservatives than among moderate and liberal Republicans.'"
"2008 pres"
5:56:58 PM

Corruption
Don Surber: "Bush cleans up the Gonzales mess."

"President Bush read Congress the riot act in a press conference that just finished. Rather than work on new legislation -- fulfill those 100-hour promises of Grandma Pelosi (minimum wage is still $5.15 an hour) -- congressional Democrats have decided to spend the next 2 years chasing rabbits down the holes in their quest for the liberal Secular Grail: Watergate."

Andrew Sullivan: "I should add that the actual, substantive position of the president is not that unreasonable. Gonzales will testify under oath; they're releasing mounds of evidence; others on Bush's staff will willingly cooperate. The attempt to protect executive privilege is a defensible one.

Josh Marshall: "Gotta love this. The White House will allow Rove and Miers to testify about the US Attorney Purge. But they can't be under oath. It has to be behind closed doors and no transcript can be kept."

Colorado Confidential: "Sen. Ken Salazar was a witness for the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the nomination of Judge Alberto Gonzales for U.S. Attorney General back in January of 2005.That move was highly criticized by Democrats. However, in regards to recent headlines about the U.S. Department of Justice, Sen. Salazar is now joining other Senators asking for the Attorney General's resignation."
"2008 pres"
5:37:52 PM

Immigration
Political Wire: "'Immigration, an issue that has divided Republicans in Washington, is reverberating across the party's presidential campaign field, causing particular complications for Senator John McCain of Arizona,' reports the New York Times.

"'The topic came up repeatedly in recent campaign swings through Iowa by Mr. McCain and Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas, another Republican who, like Mr. McCain, supports giving some illegal immigrants a path to citizenship, a position that puts them at odds with many other conservatives. Both candidates faced intensive questioning from voters on the issue, which has become more prominent in the state as immigrants are playing a larger and increasingly visible role in the economy and society.'"

Captain's Quarters: "John McCain started his campaign for the presidential nomination in 2008 with two strikes against him -- the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act and immigration reform. He has stated on many occasions that he represents conservative values, but conservatives mistrust him primarily because of these two issues. McCain apparently has heard the feedback, and he seems to be retreating on immigration as a result."
"2008 pres"
6:14:43 AM

? for President?
Political Wire: "Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) is surging in the polls, according to a new Rasmussen Reports survey. He has gained seven points on Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) over the past week, cutting her lead to just five points, 35% to 30%. Former Sen. John Edwards (D-NC) comes in third with 11%."

New West: "And the campaigning continues: New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson is in Texas this week, where he told an audience that, if elected, he'll raise the profile of the country and improve wages and health care for all Americans. Richardson his Austin, Abilene and San Antonio this week, hoping to build a base of support among the Hispanic community. He gave his first speech in Dallas in both English and Spanish. Latino friendly, gay friendly, tax-cut friendly, rooster friendly. Richardson's just plain friendly. Vivirlatino.com wonders whether Richardson, who came out against Joint Chiefs of Staff leader Peter Pace's comment calling homosexuality immoral, can be all things to all people."

Political Wire: "The Wall Street Journal notes that unlike four years ago, it's harder to pick the top Internet presidential candidate this time around. 'As the role of the Internet expands -- and diversifies -- in the 2008 cycle, all campaigns are trying to develop Web strategies, but often with different short-term goals.'"
"2008 pres"
6:09:52 AM

2008 Democratic National Convention

Here's an update on the 2008 Democratic National Convention preparations from the Rocky Mountain News. From the article, "Denver needs to make the 2008 Democratic National Convention a communitywide celebration that includes everyone from schoolchildren to artists, making the event a source of civic pride. That was the message from the organizers of the 2004 Democratic convention in Boston, who came to Denver on Monday to advise their counterparts on what makes for a successful event...

"Boston launched a 'Celebrate Boston' event July 4 - more than three weeks before the convention opened. That celebration included dozens of concerts, lectures and shows that culminated in a Boston Pops concert the night before the convention opened that drew 100,000 people to the plaza by City Hall.
"2008 pres"
6:05:53 AM

U.S. Farmers in West Grow More with Less Water

Here's a short article about drip irrigation and farmers in the Western U.S. using less water in general, from the VOA News. From the article, "To prepare for that unavoidable summer day when the soil will be too dry, [Dave] Petrocco's been installing more drip irrigation. It's expensive, but it uses 40 percent less water than traditional flood irrigation. That's important because, over the years, his annual water allocations have been cut back and the drip system allows the farmland to produce as much as it did before. In the U.S., states monitor water use and distribution. Petrocco's water allocation has been trimmed due to growing competition between Colorado's cities and farms. By 2025, it's likely that every state in the nation will face the same crisis. That's according to experts at the American Association for the Advancement of Science annual meeting, held recently in San Francisco."
"colorado water"
5:45:31 AM

Colorado Center for Biorefining and Biofuels

From the Colorado Daily, "Colorado government and business leaders made a major announcement Monday about a venture called 'C2B2' - which has no relationship to the robot R2-D2 from 'Star Wars' but is futuristic in its own right. C2B2 is an acronym for the Colorado Center for Biorefining and Biofuels, a research venture that will bring state research institutions such as CU-Boulder and the private sector together in an effort to develop new biofuels and biorefining technologies - and to transfer new developments to the private sector as rapidly as possible. Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter hailed C2B2 as a development that could become a significant part of his 'New Energy Economy' objectives for the state, and the program will continue down the path of partnership exemplified by the February 2006 announcement of the formation of the Colorado Renewable Energy Collaboratory. The Collaboratory institutions of CU-Boulder, National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Colorado State University and Colorado School of Mines will be C2B2 members, but the C2B2 team also came up with some big-name private-sector partners who will pay sponsorship fees to help fund the shared research. Shell Global Solutions, Chevron, Conoco/Phillips and Dow Chemical might be the private-sector C2B2 headliners, but the smaller firms GreenFuel Technologies, Range Fuels, Inc., Solix Biofuels, Pure Vision Technology, Inc., Copernican Energy, Rocky Mountain Sustainable Enterprises and Blue Sun Biodiesel have signed on as well...

"A Monday press release said C2B2 will certainly focus on creating transportation fuels, but also said research could lead to advances in production of bio-based agricultural fertilizer, synthetic fibers for clothing, plastics and commercial chemicals."
"2008 pres"
5:35:05 AM

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