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Wednesday, December 5, 2007
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Here's a look at establishing a restoration economy out here in the west, from Joan McCarter (via Politics West). Read the whole thing. Here are a couple of excerpts:
With all this in mind, the new report by Western Progress and Progressive States Network entitled "Building a Restoration Economy" on how these eight states are approaching cleanup projects is informative. The report defines Restoration Economy as
"the development of economic activities, such as jobs and increased tourist revenue, stemming directly from activities and projects that restore damaged resources. Restoration ranges from repairing abandoned mine lands and brownfields to improving the health of degraded forests, rangelands and waterways. The restoration economy highlights the ability of environmental conservation and restoration to create good jobs and increased revenue, thereby bringing together two interests, jobs and the environment, sometimes portrayed as being at odds."
Sounds great, no? Could this be the magic bullet to bring together a progressive coalition of labor and environmentalists, backed by state and local governments and even industry? Maybe. I talked about this with Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer and his chief policy advisor, Hal Harper, last month in Helena.
"2008 pres"
6:50:37 PM 
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From The Detroit Free Press, "We applaud Congress for voting to override President George W. Bush's veto of the Water Resources Development Act, and to authorize millions of federal dollars for Great Lakes restoration. But the fact is, no matter how much money and effort we put into restoring these waters, we will not achieve our goals unless we can also protect them from pollution and destruction. Wetlands, tributaries and other natural resources protected under the Clean Water Act are essential for a healthy ecosystem that filters pollution to provide clean drinking water, controls erosion, buffers against flooding, and provides a home for fish and wildlife that is the backbone of a multibillion-dollar hunting, fishing and outdoor recreation economy. To protect our investment in Great Lakes restoration, we must also restore the Clean Water Act and its capacity to protect our precious water resources. Restoring the Great Lakes and restoring the historic scope of the Clean Water Act go hand in hand."
Thanks to Restoring Rivers for the link. More Coyote Gulch coverage here.
"colorado water"
5:32:24 PM
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Andrew Sullivan: "'I don't care how uncomfortable or terrifying waterboarding may be to the few who deserve it. It's non-lethal, doesn't bruise the skin, break the bones, starve the tummy, or stretch the skeleton -- yet it can open sealed lips,' - pro-war blogger, Laer, at 'Cheat-Seeking Missiles.'
"Notice how torture is defended as something some terror suspects deserve. And notice no awareness that torture can open sealed lips to give us false information. The point of torture is always torture."
"2008 pres"
5:13:38 PM
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Political Wire: "Political Wire got an advance look at a new Strategic Vision poll in Iowa that shows Sen. Barack Obama expanding his lead in the first caucus state with 32% support, followed by John Edwards and Sen. Hillary Clinton tied for second at 25%. Among Republicans, Mike Huckabee leads 27% support, followed by Mitt Romney at 24%, Rudy Giuliani at 13%, Fred Thompson at 11%."
Political Wire: "From the latest Evans-Novak Political Report: 'Despite a slip in the polls by front-runner Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY), Republican confidence about winning the presidency actually has declined. The reason is the dispiriting performance put on by the Republican candidates in last Wednesday's debate in St. Petersburg, Fla. We have had several Republicans tell us that after watching that affair, they wondered not only about the outcome of the '08 presidential election but also the long-range future of the GOP.'"
Andrew Sullivan: "Today's 'Friend Of Rudy': From an alleged child-molester to an alleged drug-runner. Well: it's an improvement."
Political Wire: "Zogby released results of two new polls in Iowa and New Hampshire.
"Iowa: Among Democrats, Clinton 27%, Obama 24%, Edwards 21%, Richardson 8%; Among Republicans, Romney 26%, Huckabee 25%, Giuliani 12%, Thompson 8%.
"New Hampshire: Among Democrats, Clinton 32%, Obama 21%, Edwards 16%, Richardson 6%; Among Republicans, Romney 35%, McCain 17%, Giuliani 15%, Huckabee 10%, Paul 7%."
Political Wire: "A new Public Policy Polling survey in North Carolina finds Mike Huckabee dramatically taking the lead in the Republican presidential race with 33% support, followed by Rudy Giuliani at 17%, Fred Thompson at 16%, Mitt Romney at 9% and Sen. John McCain at 8%."
Andrew Sullivan: "'It was a horrible situation, horrible, I feel awful about it in every way. I wish that there was some way I could go back and reverse the clock and put him back in prison. But nobody, not me, not Jim Guy Tucker, not Bill Clinton, not that parole board, could ever imagine what might have transpired,' - Mike Huckabee, addressing the Wayne Dumond case at a press conference yesterday."
Political Wire: "A new Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg national survey finds Rudy Giuliani maintains his lead in the Republican presidential race with 23% but is now closely followed by Mike Huckabee at 17%. Fred Thompson comes in third at 14%, trailed by Sen. John McCain at 11%, Mitt Romney at 9%, and Rep. Ron Paul at 5%...Among Democratic voters, Sen. Hillary Clinton leads with 45% support, followed by Sen. Barack Obama at 21% and John Edwards at 11%."
"2008 pres"
3:35:26 PM
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Attempting to live blog the convention conversations meeting in Boulder. Our battery charge is low...here we go. Spelling and grammar will suffer.
12:05 Waiting for things to start up.
12:22 Starting up, Alice Madden. National convention chair Leah Daughtry (DNCC), "Delighted to be in Denver." Corrected herself naming Boulder.
Introduce local pols.
LD: Highlight the west to the rest of the country. Western issues. Convention should embody Dean's vision of a 50 state strategy -- stand up, show up -- we'll win the presidency. Aim to be accessible. Bring down the walls of the Pepsi Center, figuratively. Using technology to bring it to all across the country and world...to make everyone feel that they are part of the convention.
LD: Green is at the center of the convention. Make entire convention planning environmentally friendly, hybrid vehicles, green building. Must be conscious of the earth we've been blessed to live on. Env. principles in every aspect of convention planning. Andrea Robinson is the new Director of Greening. Specializes in greening of large events. Worked with Environment Colorado and Sierra Club. Want to learn from Robinson's "mistake list."
LD: How to get involved if not in Denver? Run for delegate. Most del. are not political professionals. Volunteer - need 12 - 15,000 for the convention. Go to denverconvention2008.com and sign up. Be involved in the online community.
AM: This is a conversation today. In Aug. we'll be nominating the next president. The eyes are on the west. Many new Democratic elected officials. The west is now what the south was for the Republicans. Opportunities the convention provides: business, teenagers that will become active, raising awareness of progressive issues. She joked, "Can't throw a snowball in Boulder without hitting a Nobel prize winner." They'll have charters in Denver to bring people to Boulder to learn about the ideas that, "Are so important to the world."
Q: What events are going to be held for children and families? AM: Any number of events Sun - Thur. Young people, hiking, kayaking. "We'll have stuff for young people." AM: Pairing adults with their children on volunteer activities. AM: Contact Mike Dino with ideas.
Q: USTA - Will provide free tennis clinics for families.
Q: How are we going to bring down the walls? AM: 2004 - 30 bloggers. 2008 - Bloggers have exploded. Engaging bloggers to get the word out. Helped with planning. State blogger corps, every state will have a rep. blogger. Hope by including in a pro-active way that the nominating message will be distributed widely.
Running low on charge...
Q: How much will convention cost? $160 million in economic impact.
Q: Are you going to need housing? Private homes? LD: Contracted with hotels, 17,000 rooms. We think we're covered. No central listing. [Mike Dino] coloradocorporatehousing.com has a clearing house for those looking for housing.
Q: How are the protestors going to be handled? Are you working with the Denver Police? LD: We're Dems and 1st Amendment very important to us. Getting message out very important to us. Anticipate demonstrators will be treated fairly. Homeland Security is working with Denver Police. We're not part of that planning yet but anticipate we will be. Denver much larger open area for demonstrators to do their thing. I think that you can have a good one [demonstration] in Denver.
Q: Procedure for businesses to get involved. LD: 2008demconvention.com, there is a link to register information about your business. People coming looking to do business in Colorado. Flowers, limos, etc.
LD: Thanks so much.
1:02 Dismissed.
"2008 pres"
12:06:27 PM
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Daily Kos: "Today the Supreme Court will hear arguments in yet another case concerning the right of men held at Guantánamo prison to appeal for their freedom. The Military Commissions Act, rushed through last year by the Republican Congress, was drafted so as to deny them the right. The Court has earlier ruled, in Rasul and again in Hamdan, that the prisoners had to be given the right to challenge their detention, which the Bush administration has sought to frustrate by various devices. The MCA is only the latest such stunt. It denies the prisoners' habeas corpus rights by stripping courts of jurisdiction to hear their appeals, and substituting a new ad hoc military court system, Combatant Status Review Tribunals. In CSRTs the accused has very limited rights and cannot appeal for his freedom even if the prosecution fails to win its case. The appeal before SCOTUS today, backed by a broad coalition of liberal, conservative, and libertarian groups as well as many distinguished lawyers, represents a last attempt to force the Bush administration to permit the prisoners to seek justice."
"2008 pres"
7:01:06 AM
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Unbossed: "GAO issued a report this week that calls into question any claims that the Iraqi Security Forces have the capacity to carry out the stated role and mission."
Captain's Quarters: "The Democrats have a new strategy on Iraq war funding that looks a lot like the old strategy: chaos. Unable to come up with a way to meddle with the successful strategy of General David Petraeus, Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi will attempt to punt on additional funding until January."
TPM Cafe, "'How can you trust the intelligence community to get it right on Iran? They got Iraq wrong in 2002 and now this?' The 'this' is the NIE on Iran and its search for nukes. That in a nutshell is one of the prevalent reactions of neocons and Bush true believers. But wait, there is more. John Bolton told Wolf Blitzer that the NIE was the handiwork of exiled State Department officials hell bent on undermining Bush and this country."
Captain's Quarters: "The NIE released on Monday said that Iran abandoned its nuclear weapons effort in 2003 after international pressure forced it to change directions, a conclusion in which the intel community had 'high confidence'. However, two years ago, the same intel community said that Iran continued to pursue nuclear weapons -- and had the same 'high confidence' level in that conclusion as well. The Wall Street Journal wonders if the intel community hasn't played a confidence game on Iran, and notes a few of the players who might have reason to do so"
"2008 pres"
6:58:14 AM
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From The Rocky Mountain News, "A Colorado-based team of climate and policy experts is asking the next president to lead a massive and urgent effort to reverse global warming by steering the country away from a carbon-fueled economy. The Presidential Climate Action Project issued more than 170 recommendations Tuesday for the 44th president to undertake in his or her first 100 days. The group also challenged presidential candidates to say what they would do about climate change."
"2008 pres"
6:47:44 AM
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© Copyright 2009 John Orr.
Last update: 3/15/09; 1:48:45 PM.
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