Monday, January 28, 2008

? for U.S. Senate? Rocky Mountain News: "Some Republicans paddling toward middle of stream." "denver 2008" 6:21:39 PM

? for President? Political Wire: "A new Denver Post poll in Colorado shows Sen. Barack Obama edging Sen. Hillary Clinton in the Democratic presidential race, 34% to 32%, with John Edwards at 17%. With a 3.5% margin of error, the race is a statistical tie...On the Republican side, Mitt Romney is way ahead of Sen. John McCain, 43% to 24%." Political Wire: "A new SurveyUSA poll in Oklahoma shows Sen. Hillary Clinton way ahead in the Democratic presidential race with 44% support, followed by John Edwards at 27% and Sen. Barack Obama at 19%. On the GOP side, Sen. John McCain leads with 37%, followed by Mike Huckabee at 28% and Mitt Romney at 19%." Political Wire: "A new CNN/Los Angeles Times/Politico poll in California shows Sen. John McCain leading the Republican presidential race with 39% support, followed by Mitt Romney at 26%, Rudy Giuliani at 13% and Mike Huckabee at 11%. On the Democratic side, Sen. Hillary Clinton leads with 49%, followed by Sen. Barack Obama at 32% and John Edwards at 11%." Political Wire: "A new Gallup Poll in California shows Sen. Hillary Clinton leading Sen. Barack Obama, 47% to 35%, with John Edwards at 10%...In the GOP race, Sen. John McCain edges Mitt Romney, 35% to 27%, followed by Mike Huckabee at 12% and Rudy Giuliani at 11%." Political Wire: "A new Gallup poll in New York finds Sen. John McCain leading the Republican presidential race with 40%, followed by Rudy Giuliani at 21%, Mitt Romney at 17% and Mike Huckabee at 11%.On the Democratic side, Sen. Hillary Clinton is way ahead at 56%, followed by Sen. Barack Obama at 28% and John Edwards at 11%." Political Wire: "The latest Public Policy Polling survey in Florida shows Mitt Romney with a 35% to 28% lead over Sen. John McCain." Political Wire: "A new Strategic Vision poll in Florida finds Sen. John McCain edging Mitt Romney, 27% to 26%, with Rudy Giuliani at 17% and Mike Huckabee at 15%." Political Wire: "The latest Reuters/C-Span/Zogby tracking poll in Florida finds Sen. John McCain with a slim lead over rival Mitt Romney, 33% to 30%, while all others lag well behind ahead of Tuesday's primary. Rudy Giuliani is once again in third place with 14%, followed by Mike Huckabee at 11%." Political Wire: "en. John McCain and Mitt Romney are running neck and neck among Florida likely Republican voters, with 32% for McCain and 31% for Romney, followed by Rudy Giuliani at 14% and Mike Huckabee at 13%, according to a new Quinnipiac poll." Political Wire: "A new Datamar survey in Florida finds Mitt Romney ahead of Sen. John McCain, 36% to 23%, followed by Rudy Giuliani at 15% and Mike Huckabee at 13%." Andrew Sullivan points us to The David Bowie Election. Watch the whole thing for the gag. "2008 pres" 5:51:32 PM

Healthcare Captain's Quarters: "When government runs the health care system...it gets to make choices about what -- and whom -- to cover. A survey of doctors in Britain's National Health Service show that a significant percentage of providers want government to cut off benefits to the elderly, the obese, smokers, and others." Anybody out there remember former governor Dick Lamm telling the elderly that they, "have a duty to die?" "2008 pres" 6:47:45 AM

War on terror Captain's Quarters: "Arrests in Spain stopped a string of terrorist bombings across Europe, according to Australia's Daily Telegraph. At least the fourteen men arrested plotted to hit transportation centers in Spain, Portugal, France, and Germany, an operation that would have been credited to al-Qaeda and Pakistani warlord Baitullah Mehsud, the man behind the assassination of Benazir Bhutto." "2008 pres" 6:41:47 AM

Economic policy Paul Krugman (via The NYT): "OK, I'm trying to figure something out. One question we won't get answered in tomorrow's State of the Union is why economic performance since 2001 has been a pale shadow of Clinton-era prosperity. In fact, it's a question nobody in political life wants to answer. The administration and its supporters won't admit that performance has been lousy; critics are happy simply to point out how bad things have been, and blame Bush. But while I yield to nobody in my Bush-bashing, I can't actually see the channels through which Bush admin policy has caused all the the bad things going on. So I'm looking a bit at other factors, outside the administration's control, that may have caused the economy to perform worse in the Naughties than it did in the Nineties." Jesus' General: "That the economy is in trouble seems beyond doubt by this point; the only question is how bad things will get and how long they will last. People have been looking to the government for signs that the Bush administration not only recognizes the existence of a serious problem, but is able to provide assistance that will lessen the blow. This is the same administration, however, that is responsible for so many of the problems in American today. "Bush could help the economy by pulling out of Iraq -- not only would this save billions of dollars in direct costs, but it would bring home troops who could return to useful, productive jobs here at home. This won't happen, though, because Bush is responsible for the lies and misinformation that got us into Iraq in the first place. The damage to the American economy through the loss of 'blood and treasure' probably can't be calculated, but Bush will never admit to a need to save what's left." "2008 pres" 6:37:33 AM

? for President? Rocky Mountain News: "Colorado's orbit outside the nucleus of political activity leading up to Super Tuesday drew a little closer to center Sunday when the Barack Obama campaign announced the candidate will rally in Denver on Wednesday...Former President Bill Clinton also is expected to be in Colorado Wednesday - details still to come - to campaign for his wife, New York Sen. Hillary Clinton. And a spokesman for former South Carolina Sen. John Edwards said his campaign is trying to schedule a Colorado rally before Feb. 5 to feature Edwards or his wife, Elizabeth...On the Republican side, none of the candidates has announced a Mile High stop before caucus day. But state GOP Chairman Dick Wadhams said Sunday there still is a possibility one or two candidates will trek through." Daily Kos: "Jane breaks the great news that Senator Clinton will be on the floor tomorrow to vote against McConnell's cloture vote on the Intelligence Committee's pro-telco amnesty FISA bill. Beating this vote is critical, and good for Clinton for taking the time out of the campaign to do her current job...Jane is now reporting that Obama will be there to vote no, too. This is great news. Thank you, Senators, for listening to us, and in turn, sending this critical message." Peggy Noonan (via The Wall Street Journal): "On the pundit civil wars, Rush Limbaugh declared on the radio this week, 'I'm here to tell you, if either of these two guys [Mr. McCain or Mike Huckabee] get the nomination, it's going to destroy the Republican Party. It's going to change it forever, be the end of it!' This is absurd. George W. Bush destroyed the Republican Party, by which I mean he sundered it, broke its constituent pieces apart and set them against each other. He did this on spending, the size of government, war, the ability to prosecute war, immigration and other issues. Were there other causes? Yes, of course. But there was an immediate and essential cause." Thanks to Colorado Pols for the link. Pollster.com:"The polls had a bad day on Saturday in grossly underestimating the support for Barack Obama, though they nailed the Clinton and Edwards votes quite well." Young Vote PAC: "Young people continued the trend of increased turnout and preference for Democrats in the South Carolina Primary. Young people almost tripled their turnout numbers from 2004 and almost doubled the turnout numbers of young Republicans. 'Young people in South Carolina continued to carry the torch of this generation,' said Jane Fleming Kleeb, Executive Director of the Young Voter PAC. 'While the race for President turned to gender and race this past week, young voters focused on turning out in high numbers and they represented strong at the polls for Democrats.'" Thanks to Colorado Pols for the link. Political Wire: "Mitt Romney has drawn even with Sen. John McCain in Florida's Republican presidential race, according to the latest Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby tracking poll. Both men receive 30% support. 'And there is drama in the wings as Mike Huckabee has surpassed Rudy Giuliani, 14% to 13%. Giuliani, who has invested most of his time and campaign treasure into Tuesday's Florida vote, is finding his support slipping away. In yesterday's tracking poll, he was in third place.'" Oliver Willis: "155,000 more black voters turned out Saturday to vote for Barack Obama than who voted in the Democratic primary in 2004. The overall Democratic field is doing a superb job at turning out voters, thrashing the Republicans with an enthusiasm gap that has to have the GOP's strategists concerned (and that number doesn't accurately reflect just how strongly independents have turned against the Republican party since 2004). "I've pushed the idea for some time that in addition to the Democratic advantage we're likely to see this fall thanks to the Bush era, there is also an untapped black vote that will materialize if Sen. Obama is the nominee. Also, as 2006 has shown us, thanks to the incumbent party's zeal for immigrant-bashing, the hispanic numbers from 2004 are likely to show up as a historic anomaly in favor of the Republicans. So, consider the following swing states in 2004 that went for Bush." Dave Winer: "It was an interesting election until the Clintons started calling Obama the nice young African-American candidate. Yeah, I lived in the south long enough to understand what that means. When I went to Tulane I was often explained as soandso's Jewish friend Dave. It meant that I could come over for dinner, but there would never be a marriage. "I should say The Old South. The problem for the Clintons is that the country has changed, as recently as the generation that's now in its early 20s. Because of my experience at Harvard, I know quite a few of them, and I promise you, race doesn't mean to them what it meant when I was their age. To them, this country is a melting pot where we've not only accepted blacks and Hispanics, but people from incredibly far away with incredible complexions, hair, clothes, traditions and names. Amazingly, it's still America." "2008 pres" 6:25:12 AM

Energy policy: Nuclear Here's an article in support of expanding nuclear power plants in the U.S. from The Denver Post. They write: Nuclear energy is the cleanest, most cost-effective large-scale "alternative" energy available. Proponents contend that a significant increase in nuclear power could alleviate higher energy prices, and help chip away at many concerns of environmentalists -- ironically, the same group most stridently opposed to nuclear energy. Fortunately, attitudes are changing. At this point, the public is spoon fed hyped-up quixotic solutions -- ethanol, solar, wind-generated power -- that are economically unfeasible and environmentally inconsequential in the short-term. "Energy independence" might be an effective applause line during a presidential debate, but in reality it's nothing more than platitude-infused wishful thinking... Dr. Patrick Moore, one of the founders of well-known environmentalist group Greenpeace, was once a critic of nuclear power. He now believes that the impact of popular culture and unfounded fears have led to a multitude of misconceptions. "The fact that nuclear technology was first used to make the bomb had a deep psychological impact on the mass mind," he explains. "Even though I was doing a Ph.D. in science at the time I helped found Greenpeace, I made the same mistake, lumping nuclear energy in with nuclear weapons, when one is destructive and the other beneficial." Moore goes on to say that fear is a common public reaction to issues like apocalyptic climate change, genetic modification and chemicals. Or, more specifically, fear of the invisible. "COb, DNA, radiation, and 'parts per billion' are all invisible," he says. "It is fairly easy to make up a story about invisible things because people can't see for themselves. Nuclear energy is by far the safest of the major energy technologies." Another convert to nuclear energy is author Gwyneth Cravens, whose new book, "Power to Save the World: The Truth About Nuclear Energy," began as a pessimistic investigation into nuclear power's dubious future and ended as an ode to the wonders of nuclear fission. Cravens, who says her book is "fundamentally about prejudice based on wrong information," spent 10 years reporting from national laboratories, uranium mines and nuclear waste sites. She claims, among other things: - Nuclear power emits no gases and burns nothing. - Toxic waste from coal-fired plants kills thousands of Americans annually, but 50 years of nuclear operation have not caused a single death among the public in this country. - Uranium, when used as energy, is so dense that if "you got all of your electricity for your lifetime solely from nuclear power, your share of the waste would fit in a single soda can." - Annual waste from a typical nuclear reactor could fit in the bed of a pickup truck and 50 years of waste from all the reactors in the country would fit in a single football field. - "A person living within 50 miles of a nuclear plant receives less radiation from it in a year than you get from eating one banana." Proponents of nuclear energy also say that reactors currently operating in the United States prevent emissions of 682 million tons of carbon dioxide every year. As Moore recently explained, the "104 nuclear plants that are operating across the United States are the equivalent of taking 100 million cars off the road." Nuclear energy, in other words, blows away any other alternative source of energy as viable and environmentally friendly. Three Mile Island, Moore contends, was a success story: "The concrete containment structure did just what it was designed to do: prevent radiation from escaping into the environment. And although the reactor itself was crippled, there was no injury or death among nuclear workers or nearby residents." Three Mile Island, in fact, is the only serious accident in the history of nuclear energy in this country. No one died. Yet, every year, hundreds perish in accidents working with other energy sources. Moreover, a single, relatively isolated accident should not scare a nation, literally, senseless. Fortunately, there may be an attitude adjustment in the works. Recently, the report on global warming from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change endorsed -- albeit tepidly -- nuclear power. The Department of Energy deadline for nuclear plants seeking federal approval before the end of 2008 is coming. Those approved will be provided with tax credits of up to $125 million for eight years and loan guarantees for up to 80 percent of a plant's cost. Moore believes that his position will win out because it is "based on science and logic." Moore also cites other well-known environmental thinkers like James Lovelock, Stuart Brand, Jared Diamond and Tim Flannery, who have on some level advocated for nuclear energy as a prudent environmental choice. More Coyote Gulch coverage here. "2008 pres" 6:20:36 AM

Fountain Creek lawsuit Here's a look at the federal trial starting today between the Sierra Club and Colorado Springs over spills into Fountain Creek, from The Colorado Springs Gazette. They write: Accused of spilling sewage into Fountain Creek in violation of the Clean Water Act, Colorado Springs Utilities will be in federal court today to defend itself against a lawsuit brought by the Sierra Club. "This is a major waterway in Colorado, and we believe this is a very important case to protect the public health," said Sierra Club attorney Eric Huber. "We don't want this to continue to be treated like an open sewer."[...] John Walsh, a former federal prosecutor who represents Utilities, said the city will argue that officials have aggressively sought to improve the city's sewage system and that Fountain Creek's water quality is affected by many problems. "The Colorado Springs system operates at industry standards or better, and they're putting an enormous amount of time, effort and money into making the system even better," Walsh said. "We're doing what we're supposed to do and in many ways better than wastewater utilities of comparable size. There is no need for the judge to take any additional action."[...] Among the Sierra Club's witnesses: - Bruce Bell, an environmental engineer from Monroe, N.Y., who has evaluated sewage systems for environmental groups, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Justice Department. He'll testify about the system's condition. - John Woodling, a retired aquatic biologist with the Colorado Division of Wildlife for 35 years, will testify about the spills' impact on fish, wildlife and people. In addition, an economist will testify about Springs Utilities' ability to pay for faster and more far-reaching upgrades... Walsh plans to call Michael Rothberg, an engineering consultant from Denver, and George Tchobanaglous, an engineering professor at the University of California-Davis. He said they will testify that Springs Utilities has a zero spill policy, "but the unfortunate reality is that Fountain Creek and its tributaries have problems from a host of different sources." More Coyote Gulch coverage here. "colorado water" 6:06:48 AM

John Singletary: It's a way to keep water in places like Fowler, Manzanola and Rocky Ford Here's an update on the proposed "Super Ditch" for the Arkansas Valley from The Pueblo Chieftain. From the article: The program would pool water rights to provide annual or long-term leases to municipalities or other users. A lease is a one-time sale of water that does not change ownership of water rights. Singletary explained that the Super Ditch label stuck to the project after a group of farmers from each of the seven ditches envisioned to become part of the program visited the Palo Verde Irrigation District last year... The difficulty in the Arkansas Valley is that to [operate] that same type of program, farmers in seven canal systems would have to pool their resources, Singletary said. That's easier said than done. The ditches have different priority dates, storage capabilities, consumptive use designations and losses as the water moves down the river. So far, the Lower Ark district has spent more than $600,000 in an attempt to sew the discrepancies into a uniform marketing plan, and more than $200,000 - including a $150,000 state grant - will be spent in the near future. Only two of the ditches allow water to be used outside the system - the Fort Lyon and the High Line canals. The other ditches - Bessemer, Oxford, Otero, Holbrook and Catlin - would have to change their bylaws. In the end, neither the Lower Ark district or the ditch companies are expected to administer the program, but the shareholders themselves... Still, the Lower Ark district is spearheading a concerted effort to push the Super Ditch, or whatever it will eventually be called, by making plans to run legal interference with the Colorado Division of Water Resources and eventually in court. The district is studying what kind of cooperative structure could be used, and addressing the economic impacts to farmers and the surrounding communities. The district has even reached some preliminary agreements that would connect the farmers to a proposed reservoir near the Pueblo Chemical Depot in Pueblo County and a pipeline that would take water to thirsty water districts and cities in El Paso County. The plan would not only provide a reliable water supply to municipal users, but also the Division of Wildlife and State Parks, which have expanded the need for water from the Arkansas River Headwaters Recreation Area to Lake Pueblo to John Martin Reservoir in recent years, Singletary said... But the most important impact to the Lower Ark district is keeping water in the lower valley, and the best way to do that is to keep farming viable, Singletary said. "What we've seen in the last few years is that the farmers have had tough times," Singletary said. "If we could provide a lease income, it would keep farm income more substantial." The leasing program could work, with adequate storage, in wet, average and dry years, but would be most beneficial to farmers during droughts, Singletary said. "It gives the ability to put the water to the best use during the dry years when the farmer can't get the water to the end of the rows," Singletary said. The difference between the Super Ditch and past studies of ag water is that the Lower Ark studies are looking at water availability through the eyes of those who now hold the majority of water rights, the farmers, rather than those with growing needs, the cities. "We've uncovered research that shows a benefit to the people who own the water rights, not the people taking it out," Singletary said... "It's not a ditch," Singletary stressed. "It's a tool to protect rural Colorado. It's a way to keep water in places like Fowler, Manzanola and Rocky Ford." More Coyote Gulch coverage here. "colorado water" 5:57:45 AM

HB 08-1137 According to The Glenwood Springs Post Independent "reg" Kathleen Curry opposes HB 08-1137. From the article: State Rep. Kathleen Curry, D-Gunnison, said Friday that she opposes House Bill 1137, which would require that when the DOW acquires land or water interests, it would have to sell other property within one year so its total property assets would not grow. Curry, whose district includes eastern Garfield County, is the chair of the House Agriculture, Livestock and Natural Resources Committee, which will consider the bill. Curry has joined with the DOW in opposing the bill proposed by Rep. Jerry Sonnenberg, R-Sterling. She said the constituents in her district receive benefits when the DOW acquires land. Sonnenberg acknowledged the challenge he faces in trying to get the bill passed. "When leadership of the committee and of the House has been swayed, it makes the mountain much steeper to climb," said Sonnenberg. He added the opposition of the DOW is another "stumbling block" for his bill. Sonnenberg said he still plans on trying to persuade committee members to push the bill to the House floor. He said he would cite state statutes, which he said makes conservation land easements and leases the first priority to protect habitats, rather than outright acquisitions... House Bill 1137 would also require the DOW to pay local governments a payment in "lieu of taxes" equal to the amount of tax the governments would receive annually if the property were owned by a private person or corporation. Further language in the bill would require that any DOW land or water interest purchase be approved by the legislature, according to the text of the bill. Sonnenberg described himself as a hunter and fisherman. "(HB) 1137 has come out of what I deem as the DOW buying more and more land, which has grown immensely over the last several years," said Sonnenberg. "It seems that we are skipping the easement and leases portion and going directly to land acquisitions. Leases and easements are much less expensive to accomplish than fee acquisitions...The DOW has the opportunity to use easements and leases and take twice as much land or more land, protect more habitats than they do now by owning the land," Sonnenberg said. "Leases and easements are less expensive than owning the land." But Curry said many organizations on the Western Slope don't have enough funding to pursue conservation easements on all the property people are selling. "If we didn't have the DOW stepping forward and doing acquisitions, we would see more housing developments," Curry said. "We would see more development on prime agricultural land. I have a lot of support for the DOW's efforts. They have really stepped up and bailed us out when we couldn't (protect lands) locally. That is why I won't be supporting HB 1137." More Coyote Gulch coverage here. "colorado water" 5:40:43 AM

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