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Saturday, December 16, 2006
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Political Wire: "John Edwards 'intends to enter the 2008 race for the White House,' the AP reports. 'Edwards, who represented North Carolina in the Senate for six years, plans to make the campaign announcement late this month from the New Orleans neighborhood hit hardest by Hurricane Katrina last year and slow to recover from the storm.'"
"2008 pres"
1:58:38 PM 
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Andrew Sullivan: "The man exposing Mitt Romney's aggressively pro-gay past has appeared on the Daily Show. Let's put it this way: he's no liberal. Here he is being interviewed by Ed Helms."
Meanwhile, Sullivan reports that, "The Romney candidacy is staggering under the weight of its own contradictions."
"2008 pres"
8:24:08 AM
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Political Wire: "Former Oklahoma Gov. Frank Keating (R) 'is mulling a possible bid for the presidency, voicing concern that the 2008 Republican lineup lacks a Ronald Reagan conservative,' the AP reports. 'Keating, 62, a former FBI agent and prosecutor, served as Oklahoma governor from 1994-2002 and was in charge of the state during the deadly Oklahoma City bombing in 1995. He was a high-ranking official in the Justice and Treasury departments during the Reagan administration and considered a possible vice presidential choice by George W. Bush in 2000.'
"Howard Mortman: 'Need a reason to like Keating? I'll give you two. Will Rogers and Theodore - two books he wrote to share his love of America's legends with our country's youth. Most folks running for president write books about themselves and featuring themselves, not America's real heroes. Keating's humility sets him apart from those typical politicians. His books remind a cynical electorate that America can produce greatness.'"
"2008 pres"
8:20:25 AM
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Talking Points Memo: "Well, here we go. Reports this week, including from today's New York Times, indicate that the President will escalate U.S. involvement in Iraq by deploying additional troops. CBS News last evening reported that plans already call for a brigade from the 82nd Airborne Division to deploy to Kuwait after the holidays. Incoming Secretary of Defense Robert Gates is expected to approve the move after being sworn in Monday."
"2008 pres"
8:07:14 AM
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Officials hoping to bring the 2008 Democratic National Convention to Denver haven't given up hope, according to the Rocky Mountain News. From the article, "Colorado's Democratic political power-troika - Gov.elect Bill Ritter, U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar and Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper - teamed up on a conference call Friday to tell party chairman Howard Dean that Denver has what it takes to put on a fantastic 2008 presidential nominating convention. With former Vermont Gov. Dean expected to pick Denver or New York City early next week to host the national convention, the call was one last lobbying push to ease reported concerns about Denver's ability to raise enough money and hotel rooms, and to deliver on the mammoth logistical and security demands required by the $80 million political bash for 35,000 visitors. The message of the 20-minute call was clear: 'We would make it one of the best-run conventions in history,' Hickenlooper recounted."
"2008 pres"
8:01:11 AM
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Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne is hoping that the Colorado River Compact states can reach an agreement on sharing the over-allocated river during droughts, next year, according to the Arizona Daily Star. From the article, " Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne told water officials from seven Western states Friday that he expects an agreement on sharing Colorado River water during periods of drought 'signed, sealed and delivered' next year.
Kempthorne used his first appearance before the annual Colorado River Water Users Association conference to emphasize philosophy over policy and consensus over conflict.
'I view my role less as a water master of the Colorado River than as a mayor of the river,' he told several hundred officials from states that draw water from the river. The two-day conference ended Friday...
"Two years ago the upper-basin states asked the Bureau of Reclamation to cut releases of water from the Glen Canyon Dam to help refill Lake Powell, which had dropped to about 49 percent capacity due to drought. The level has since increased to about 51 percent, officials said. Lower basin states said reducing water releases would hurt downstream users and jeopardize Lake Mead, which is at 55 percent capacity. Kempthorne noted Friday that he signed a 2007 annual operating plan calling for the release of 8.23 million acre-feet next year from Lake Powell - the same as in recent years."
eMediaWire: "Calling it a critical time for the Colorado River Basin States, Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne today said the region and the nation have a sacred obligation to care for the Colorado River through more effective management actions, as the states continue to benefit from its water and power. 'You and I are entrusted with a national treasure -- the Colorado River -- and the decisions we make about this river affect the lives and future of millions of people -- of an entire region of our country,' Kempthorne told Basin State officials at the annual meeting of the Colorado River Water Users Association. 'If we are wise, future generations will benefit. If we are unwise, future generations will suffer. It is incumbent upon us to be wise.' Kempthorne, whose department manages dams and storage systems on the Colorado River, lauded 'the incredible ingenuity' that harnessed the power of the river. He cited Glen Canyon and Hoover Dams and the other engineering triumphs in the Colorado River Basin. These projects make it possible for river water to flow over mountains to people and farms hundreds of miles away. 'We have turned vast areas of uninhabitable land into places where people live, work, and have full lives,' he said...
"Among the principles that should continue to guide these efforts, the first is that cooperation is better than litigation, he said. 'Where there is conflict or potential conflict, there are no true winners unless everyone gets something and everyone gives up something,' he noted. 'If we stubbornly force courts and judges to make the decisions that we ourselves should be making in cooperation and partnership, then courts will certainly declare a winner and a loser. But I am convinced the winner will enjoy only a pyrrhic victory -- in which the cost of the battle exceeds the fruits of success. A second principle is continuing to seek creative solutions to the challenges we face,' Kempthorne said, citing the Upper Colorado River Endangered Fish Recovery Program, the Lower Colorado Basin Multi-species Conservation Program, and the San Juan River Basin Recovery Implementation Program as examples of recent creative problem-solving. 'Faced with the need to manage the river for threatened and endangered fish and other wildlife, the Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Reclamation and many other state and local partners developed these initiatives as reasonable and prudent alternatives under the Endangered Species Act. This allows critical water projects to continue to operate while ensuring the conservation of the fish.'"
Here is the link to the Secretary's comments.
"colorado water"
7:33:28 AM
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There's nothing like high prices for oil to stimulate interest in developing oil shale. The BLM granted leases in Colorado's Piceance Basin yesterday, according to the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel. From the article, "The Bureau of Land Management on Friday issued leases for five oil shale research and development projects in the Piceance Basin. The leases will allow the first oil shale projects on public lands in northwest Colorado in more than three decades. The BLM issued three of the leases to Shell Frontier, and one each to Chevron and EGL Resources. The three companies plan to conduct research projects on in-situ oil shale extraction processes on 160-acre parcels on BLM land in Rio Blanco County. The initial term of the leases is 10 years, and the companies have the option of extending the leases another five years if they prove they are diligently pursuing 'commercial production levels,' according to the BLM. The leases contain a right to convert the research and development leases and nearly 5,000 acres of surrounding land on each parcel into 20-year commercial leases if oil shale production there proves to be commercially viable."
"2008 pres"
7:21:11 AM
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© Copyright 2009 John Orr.
Last update: 3/15/09; 12:18:52 PM.
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