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Wednesday, April 18, 2007
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? for Denver City Council District 8
Colorado Confidential: "This morning we posted the interview I conducted with District 8 candidate Greg Rasheed. Next up is my discussion with Darrell Watson. Once again, you can click here for a pdf map of the precincts in District 8. Denver Politics has additional coverage on the race here."
"2008 pres"
6:46:15 PM 
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Women's health
The Daily Dish: "If you scroll through the hysterical posts about today's abortion decision on, say, TAPPED or any other lefty blog, you would think that pro-life types like myself must be over the moon with joy. In reality, I think the prevailing pro-life mood is captured by Doug Johnson of National Right to Life's bone-dry remark that 'finally, it is illegal in America to mostly deliver a premature infant before puncturing her skull and removing her brain.' In other words, it's great to have a victory, any victory, but in the grand scheme of the abortion debate, the pro-choice side is still beating us about forty (or maybe forty million) to one."
TPM Cafe: "Today's 5-4 Supreme Court decision validating Congress' ban on so-called partial-birth abortions is obviously a setback for the reproductive rights of women, and a victory for those who want to roll them back. But the highly convoluted majority opinion, as reflected in the remarkably clear concurring and dissenting opinions, may make a broader attack on abortion rights harder in the long run, making the next appointment or two to the Court even more critical."
"2008 pres"
6:30:17 PM
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Iraq
Reuters: "Suspected al Qaeda militants killed nearly 200 people in a wave of car bombings in Baghdad on Wednesday, including one that was the single deadliest attack in the Iraqi capital since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion."
"2008 pres"
6:25:30 PM
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Corruption
Political Wire: "Roll Call is reporting that the FBI "has raided the Northern Virginia home of Rep. John Doolittle (R-CA)... No details are publicly available yet about the circumstances of the raid, but Doolittle and his wife, Julie, have been under federal investigation for their ties to the scandal surrounding imprisoned former lobbyist Jack Abramoff.'"
Josh Marshall: "Sounds like former staffer Kevin Ring may have sold Doolittle down the river."
Political Wire: "The latest Evans-Novak Political Report says Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-IL) 'plans a major speech in the next two weeks to be delivered at a nonpartisan site that will depict the controversy over President Bush's dismissal of U.S. attorneys as a part of a broader pattern of corruption. Emanuel plans to say that the U.S. attorneys issue, in the public mind, 'will be to corruption what Katrina was to incompetence.' He will delineate a pattern of Bush Administration abuses that include the Interior Department, General Services Administration, Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the Department of Education on student loans.'"
"2008 pres"
6:22:31 PM
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Energy policy
New West: "Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. will wrap up the Utah Energy Summit today.
"The summit, which has drawn a wide range of Western leaders and environmental groups, has drawn some fairly heft financial support from some of the region's largest energy players, as well. The Salt Lake Tribune reported on Monday that Arch Coal, Rocky Mountain Power, Questar, Chevron and Bill Barrett Corp., all pitched in on the summit.
"The summit kicked off on Sunday, with Huntsman and Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer presiding over the opening remarks, which consisted of a list of things the National Association of Governors would like Congress to get done on energy.
"The governors' driving desire to hold off devastating changes wrought by a warming climate, along with a desire to wean the nation off foreign oil, provided the motivation for the 'to-do' list. The list contained a push for clean-coal technology, higher mileage requirements for vehicles, and massive injections of federal cash for developing new technology.
Live Science: "Ethanol, more commonly known as drinking alcohol, is touted by some as a viable alternative fuel for vehicles. Although its energy content is roughly two-thirds that of gasoline by volume, ethanol is increasingly flowing into gas tanks, with some one out of every eight gallons of gas sold in the United States containing 8 to 10 percent ethanol. Yet there is heated debate among scientists as to whether or not ethanol really is good for the environment. Studies hint, for instance, that ethanol might guzzle more energy during its manufacture than it provides, and that it might strain valuable water resources. Recent findings also suggest fuels high in ethanol may pose an equal or greater risk to public health than regular gasoline."
"2008 pres"
6:00:40 PM
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? for President?
Political Wire: "'The American public has given about $160 million to the 2008 presidential candidates so far this year, more than four times the total contributed to campaigns in the same period four years ago,' reports the New York Times. 'Much of the money went into the pockets of the political class: media, fund-raising and political consultants. But each campaign doled out its contributions differently, often in unexpected ways that provide some insights into the candidates.'"
Political Wire: "Sen. Barack Obama and Rudy Giuliani get the most support from young voters, according to a new Harvard University poll. Among young likely Democratic voters, Obama's presidential bid gets 35% support, followed by Sen. Hillary Clinton at 29% and John Edwards with 9%. On the GOP side, Giuliani gets 31% support of young voters, followed by Sen. John McCain at 18% and Mitt Romney at 8%."
"2008 pres"
6:57:33 AM
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Tragedy
Best line of the day so far from NewMexiKen, "'People who want to take this within 24 hours of the event and make it their political hobby horse to ride, I've got nothing but loathing for them.' Virginia Governor Tim Kaine speaking for many of us."
Meanwhile from Blogs for Bush, "There is, though, no comfort to be found in this - a person who, even if foreign born, was one of ours took it upon himself to gather weapons and then deliberately and with malice aforethought take the lives of 32 people. There is a monster among us, creating these men again and again and again, and until we face up to this monster, we won't be free of it.
"The monster I refer to is the monumental depravity of our society - the combination of glorified violence, socially acceptable rudeness, a sea of pornography, seeking to assign blame rather than accept responsibility, rampant greed for the things of the world, the concept of 'its ok to lie' in certain circumstances...you mix this vile brew and you will be forced to drink it to the dregs...and what happened yesterday was just another sip of the cup.
"We have to change, good people - we have to stop all this. It is within us to do it, if we'll just regain our courage to make demands for decency...if we'll just rebuild a shattered society on the concepts of sobriety, modesty, personal responsibility and love of people rather than things. It can be done...and unless you want to see yesterday played out again and again, it must be done."
6:54:36 AM
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Immigration
From today's Denver Post, "Immigration agents raided a potato farm and processing plant in Monte Vista on Tuesday and arrested 19 workers on immigration violations. The raid by Immigration and Customs Enforcement left community members scrambling to check on families, said Flora Archuleta, executive director of the San Luis Valley Immigrant Resource Center. 'We are going to have to deal with this because it's going to affect families,' she said. 'They are just terrorized right now - they don't know what to do.' A tip about the farm, Worley & McCullough Inc., led ICE to investigate and raid the location, said Carl Rusnok, ICE spokesman. ICE agents interviewed approximately 70 workers at the potato farm and arrested 17 workers from Mexico and two from Guatemala...
"Two women were conditionally released for humanitarian reasons, said Rusnok. That can include medical issues or being the sole caregiver to children. 'These actions do not resolve the root causes of migration to the United States, but further polarize how immigrants are perceived and treated,' said Julien Ross, coordinator for the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition. 'This is a disturbing indictment of our nation's priorities as many immigrant families await federal legislation that might potentially allow them to adjust their immigration status in the United States.' Immigrant advocates from Denver and the Mexican consul traveled to the San Luis Valley late Tuesday. Vigils were held in Alamosa and Denver."
"2008 pres"
6:41:21 AM
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Leadville Hatchery fish for Twin Lakes and Turquoise
Plans to stock Twin Lakes from the Leadville Hatchery are underway now that the hatchery has been declared free of whirling disease, according to the Mountain Mail. From the article, "Anglers can expect a trout fishing revival in Twin and Turquoise lakes this summer as the Leadville National Fish Hatchery resumes stocking after a 12-year hiatus. The hatchery, one of the oldest in the West, was declared free of whirling disease in January after a costly and time-consuming battle to rid its facilities of parasites causing the disease. Now that its water and fish have a clean bill of health, the hatchery will begin in May delivering 10- to 13-inch rainbow and cutthroat trout to reservoirs in Lake and Chaffee counties. Local fishermen are excited about the prospect...
"Leadville fishery biologist Carlos Martinez expects the improved fishing will boost the valley's economy. 'When people realize Twin Lake is being stocked every couple weeks when it wasn't stocked before, the economic impact will be in the millions of dollars per year,' Martinez said. The local economy has been without that influx since the Leadville hatchery was forced to stop stocking local reservoirs in 1995 when it was diagnosed with a whirling disease problem. Trout contract whirling disease through a parasite produced by worms. Infected fish become deformed and lose equilibrium, making it difficult for them to evade predators and catch food. The disease affects young trout more than adults and can decimate populations...
"The hatchery continued to send fish to lower reservoirs in the valley such as Pueblo, John Martin and Fort Carson, where infected fish are less of a threat to nearby streams. But, after receiving $2 million in federal funding in 2003, the hatchery began the process of freeing itself from the disease. It designed an extensive filtration and ultraviolet zapping system to clean its water before it entered the fish-rearing system. It also decommissioned its earth-bottom rearing ponds."
"colorado water"
6:17:26 AM
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Springs' Utilities opposed to development om Hoosier Pass?
Colorado Springs Utilities is fighting development on Hoosier Pass, according to the summit Daily News "reg". From the article, "...developer Tay Loftin's hopes for building on his property in the Quandary Village subdivision, along County Road 805 near Monte Cristo Creek, have soured recently, as the city-owned Colorado Springs Utilities has tried to block him from accessing his lots and has sent letters threatening legal action if he pursues a development application with Summit County...
"At issue are potential impacts to Colorado Springs Untilities' water pipeline and collection system, established more than 10 years before the land in the area was platted for development. The Front Range city gets as much as 10 percent of its total municipal water supply from the Blue River watershed by piping it under the Continental Divide. 'Impacts to the pipe or the system could have a significant effect on our customers,' said systems operations manager Scott Campbell. Development and traffic along County Road 805 could 'put our infrastructure and our ability to operate our systems at risk,' Campbell said. 'We don't think it's responsible to ... issue permits until these issues have been resolved,' he added. They have asked Summit County to refrain from issuing building permits in the area, implying that Colorado Springs would go to court to block development until outstanding issues are resolved. At the heart of the matter are several conflicting surveys that make it hard to determine the precise location of lot lines and the path of a non-exclusive utility easement in the subdivision. A number of old survey monuments in the area have been destroyed, and even the most recent mapping effort, using Highway 9 as a reference point, may be flawed."
"colorado water"
6:05:44 AM
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State of the Rockies
From the Summit Daily News "reg", "Chris Jackson, manager for the 2007 Colorado College State of the Rockies Project, will lead a discussion of key findings from the report with an emphasis on the impact of climate change and deteriorating forest health to the communities of Colorado's central and northern mountains, including Summit County, starting at 7:30 a.m. Thursday at the Best Western Lake Dillon Lodge in Frisco."
"colorado water"
5:49:16 AM
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Global warming: The Earth is a beautifully complex system
Here's another article about the IPCC report released Monday, from the Anchorage Daily News. From the article, "In the U.S., Alaska, the Southwest, California and the Atlantic and Gulf coasts are the most seriously threatened, the authors of the new report said at a Washington news conference on Monday...
"The North American section, Chapter 14, describes what's happening now and what the authors think will occur as the world heats up. Here are some of the developments it forecasts as 'likely' or 'very likely':
"-- By 2039, average temperatures across North America will rise by 1.8 to 5.4 degrees Fahrenheit. By 2100, the warming will be 3.6 to 5.4 degrees in the West, South and East, but more than 9 degrees in the far North.
"-- Less rain will fall in the Southwest, but more will fall in the rest of the continent. The chances of extreme precipitation and flooding will increase.
"-- Trends in hurricane frequency and intensity are uncertain, but there will be more intense mid-latitude storms and extreme wave heights.
"-- Shrinking western mountain snowpacks will melt earlier, causing spring floods and drier summers. The Columbia and Colorado rivers will be especially vulnerable. Southwestern states will battle for water.
"-- Water levels in the Great Lakes will drop, affecting ship navigation and fishing and exposing buried pollutants.
"-- Warmer lake and river water will threaten fish and spread pollution. Surface temperatures in Midwestern lakes could reach 86 degrees.
"-- Growing seasons will lengthen for most of the 21st century. Forests will increase by 10 percent to 20 percent. As much as one-third of plant and animal species may be doomed to extinction.
"--Sea levels will rise 9 to 18 inches by 2100 along U.S. coasts, higher in Canada and Alaska. Up to 21 percent of coastal wetlands in the mid-Atlantic region will be lost. Higher seas and accompanying storm surges will harm transportation along the Gulf and Atlantic coasts.
"-- Severe heat waves and more pollution will threaten human health. Chicago can expect 25 percent more heat waves annually. Los Angeles will experience four to eight times as many heat-wave days. Severe hay fever, asthma and other lung disease will mount."
Meanwhile, according to Science Daily, "U.S. scientists are preparing a North Pole study, readying instruments that will make year-round observations of the water beneath the Arctic ice cap. The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution researchers will investigate changes in the waters of the upper layers of the Arctic Ocean that insulate surface ice from warmer, deeper waters. The expedition is part of a multiyear, multi-institutional program to establish a real-time, autonomous Arctic Observing Network. Two autonomous ice-based observatories will be anchored to the ice and will drift with the natural movement of the ice while observing water properties in the top 2,625 feet of the Arctic Ocean. The buoys are designed to last three years -- about the same lifespan as the ice floes that support them."
"2008 pres"
5:42:15 AM
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© Copyright 2009 John Orr.
Last update: 3/14/09; 9:11:30 PM.
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