Shamelessly Plugging

Look, I didn't ask you to give to race for the cure, or the Aids Walk, or any candidate, or ask you to participate in any volunteer projects*. You owe me!

This is a great little effort to elect some local candidates that beleive in renewable energy. And I'm asking you to give. Any amount. The limit is a mere $50.

Wind of Change: Renewable Energy Fund Nope, it is not tax-deductible.

*Let's be clear, I also didn't participate in any of the activities listed here and god knows I don't do volunteer work. However, I have given over $1500 to elect good people in Colorado, so it is your turn.

Check your Voter Reg

Check to see if you're registered to vote:
http://www.sos.state.co.us/Voter/voterHome.do

For the poltical junkies

We won't have our mail ballots in hand for about 3 weeks, but for the people who want to get educated ahead of time, the final draft of the blue book came out today so you can study up on your ballot initaitives and referenda. We will need to do a voter guide soon.

Mistaken Identity?

Headline from Comcast.net home page today: Is Clooney secretly advising Obama?
And I ask, or could it just be a case of Mistaken Identity?

On a more serious note, don't forget to vote today. No waiting at my precinct. There is a sneaky ballot issue allowing police to impound cars and jail anyone stopped without their license in hand. Bummer if you ever run to the store and forget your license. Even more of a bummer in my hood where traffic cops could become immigration enforcers.

More random shit

Mad Men is quite possibly the best show to air in a very long time.

I spent some time doing political work today with friends and here are the results of some of our conversations...

Re: John Edwards ... "There's nothing like poverty and blowjobs".
Re: Barack Obama's supporters walking around talking about his wonderful speeches and doing nothing real to elect him ... "The hope is palpable".
Re: Everyone we called in Boulder named 'Serenity' or 'Faith' that hung up on us ... "Fucking douchebags".

Really, no, REALLY??

Warning, the potheads are back. This time they are pushing the FAA to allow pot smoking in airport lounges. They are serious. I guess after losing the state-wide ballot initiative to legalize pot, they have to justify their existence to their funders. I would like to bring back our dead to us list and add SAFER Colorado. Douche Bags.

I've wanted to post some videos

I'm so glad someone captured this political ad and put it on youtube. That mountain in the back that he calls Pikes Peak, is actually Denali in Alaska. Oops. So stupid. Pikes Peak is one of the most recognizable mountains in the country ... as is Denali. Duh.

So, in case the campaign is over tonight, I'm re-posting the "bitch is the new black" video from SNL. Funny and a classic.

And finally, "are politicians failing our lobbyists"?

The PNC....You Saw it Here First

Sometimes-Craft-AR needs to get a life. But when she wins the Post prize (a t-shirt, BTW) in the Peeps contest, you can say you know her.

My new favorite bill.

On Monday, the State Senate is going to consider a bill that will restrict a government entity from burdening a person's exercise of religion. For the sake of sport, I'm calling it the "God Told Me To Hate You" bill. So, the Civil Rights Division can't prosecute employers for refusing to hire a gay person, Muslim, woman, etc. The Dept. of Housing could do nothing to stop a person's requirement that they live in a white's only public housing community. The Justice Department can't prosecute hate crimes. The list goes on.

Your tax dollars are work people. Think about that as you prepare your return this year.

Sluts!

Just keep talking you moron.

UPDATE: "[My wife] advised me I probably could've come up with a different set of words."

Ruminations

I have not been very inspired to blog lately, and I'm not all that inspired now. I did come across this funny website that I thought the crafters might enjoy.

So, I went to my caucus last night. There goes two hours of my life I'll never get back. Here's my theory of the caucus ... it brings out the democratic party nut-nuts. Guess I'm one of them. I'm very happy to report that I am now solidly in the Hillary camp simply based on the decorum of her supporters. You Obama people are freak shows. I digress. Look at the states that held caucuses vs. those that held primaries. As a very general rule, Obama took the caucuses and Hillary took the primaries. She gets the popular vote, he gets the kooks. The same is true on the Repub side ... Romney/Huckabee took the caucuses. I just thought I'd share my theory. I'm not really that wed to it. It was hatched during my post-caucus drink fest with the other miserable caucus-goers.

Another observation. CNN has the best political website.

Nerd alert

In case you are ever really really bored between the hours of 9am and noon, you can now watch online the Colorado House of Representatives do their work. If you had been tuned in last week, you could have seen the now infamous kick.

Don't kick me, bro.

Let this be a lesson to everyone working in politics, don't get in the way of Doug Bruce ... er, Representative Doug Bruce. Today, before being sworn in, he kicked a reporter that was taking his picture. And the public was concerned about lobbyists. Heh.

West Virginia, mountain mama . . .

Look out blog, I'm back. West Virginia was beautiful! Photos are here. The trip was very cool, even though when I landed in DC it was 85 degrees/85% humidity. Turned out to be cool in the "mountains" of West VA. HP01's cabin was amazing and the changing colors were spectacular! Puts our sad Aspens to shame.

Denver Elections: I spoke to my friends at SEIU today and they recommend a "Yes" on A-I. I'm probably going to vote against 1G because I believe that the cultural facilities can be taken care of through other means like federal and state grants, and if they don't meet that criteria they are not worthy. My biggest concern was actually with 1A because of the huge debt accumulated on the backs of the taxpayers, but I'm going to trust SEIU on that one. Personally, I'm also voting against Initiated Question 100 mainly because it makes "the private use and possession of marijuana ... the City's lowest law-enforcement priority". Here is my reasoning. There are offenses on our books that I personally feel should have a lower priority than a marijuana offense. Sodomy, loitering, more than 3 non-relatives living on the premises, more than 3 dogs on the premises, not wearing a seat belt, smoking within 15 ft. of the door of a public place. These are just a few of our justified, yet relatively arbitrary laws (except for the sodomy thing, totally unjustified). I'm still checking on the School Board issue. I have many differing opinions on that one. I'll get back to you on my decision.

Favorite Quote of the Week: I paraphrase HPO1 . . . I believe in gun rights. I'll be damned if anyone will tell me to leave my property without my dogs in an evacuation (ala New Orleans).

New Favorite Song: Hold On by KT Tunstall, which I obtained thanks to DC 4-bucks. Not to be confused with the epic soft rock ballad Hold On by Jamie Walters (which stuck in my head thanks to HP01's love of 90's music on her ipod). Truth be told I downloaded both. Damn that 4-bucks and 90210.

2007 Coordinated & Regular Biennial School Elections...

Voter Guide Input Needed. IC? DHP?

Yay! Let the political fisticuffs begin!

Not that I get to vote in the Congressional District 2 race, but if I did Jared Polis would definitely be off the list. The first strike was that stupid Amendment 41 debacle and now it looks like Mike Miles is one of his biggest supporters. Yep, that jackass that ran for US Senate in 2004, lost the primary with Salazar (more like bitch-slaped with 25% of the vote), then continued to attack Salazar during the general election race against Coors. This is so sad, beacuse Jared is a good guy who has done a ton of good for Colorado, but naiveté is naiveté. And jackass endorsements are jackass endorsements.

Plus, I'm a bit appauled that he would attack Fitz-Gerald for two votes on resolutions that were being touted as "support the troops" statements. Geez, it's not like she put something in the constitution that denies scholarships to the children of state employees. Nope, that was Jared.

Understandable blog silence

When the news of the day turns to unimaginable tragedy, it is understandable that the blog has been silent. The political news has, of course, moved to gun violence and gun control which I will not weigh in on, but Media Matters has a good overview on the presidential candidates weighing in on the issue. However, it seems to me we are going down the wrong path. Shouldn’t the country instead be weighing in on de-stigmatizing mental health disorders, integrating mental and physical health, increasing funding for mental health treatment, and encouraging people to seek treatment for depression? It seems to me this would be a much more productive national discussion given that socially integrated and healthy individuals do not commit mass murders? Perhaps if we stopped judging anti-social behavior and treated such conditions without attaching stigma, this kind of violence would be on the decline.


I’m just waiting for the anti-immigrant debate to refuel. It is going to be more shameful than before, I fear.


Since all politics do not take a break, there is some good news out of the Colorado Legislature. Today the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, SB 25, passed out of the Senate (yes, on a party-line vote, but what’s new?). The bill adds adds sexual orientation and gender identity to Colorado’s Discriminatory or Unfair Employment Practices law. The bill is now headed to the House where it has been assigned to the Judiciary Committee. Also, HB 1330, which allows gay and lesbian couples to adopt children in Colorado, passed the entire legislature late last week and is expected to be signed by our new governor. Hooray! I know of one goofador that will be pleased.

Oil & Gas Developers and the Army . . . Fuck 'em

Let's start with the Roan Planteau on the west slope. Easily one of the most beautiful places in this state . . . perhaps in this country. Its on my list for travel this summer, which I need to do before the oil and gas industry completely destroys the place. They've already done a pretty good job (see right) aided by our president and our former governor (a lobbyist for the oil & gas industry).

We have an opportunity to stop this development by changing the oil & gas commission in Colorado that rubber stamped this development in the past. The bill is going to be heard on Monday, so please take action now!

Now to an even larger disgrace. The Army is planning a 2.5 million acre land grab that spans from Trinidad to the Kansas border. This is productive ranch land and the people that live there currently would rather not have a live ammo and weapons training in or around their homes. The US Government is planning to use their power of eminent domain to take their land anyway. Colorado's legislature is taking action and so should you. Find out more here. The efforts of the landowners in the area has recently been aided by Colorado Preservation Inc. who put the Santa Fe Trail on their list of Colorado's most endangered places.

UPDATE: HB 1069 (to stop the Army's land grab) will pass the Legislature on Wednesday and head to the governor. This is a major victory to the land owners in the area and to Coloradans in general. Very exciting. Shamefully, the bill is being opposed by the Colorado Competitive Council which represents the Denver Chamber of Commerce and a number of other business interests in the state. Boo!

Local jackass makes it official, runs for president

Tom Tancredo is once again bringing up the stature of Colorado. Good news folks, he’s running for president to spread his hate nation-wide. He’ll be continuing the “yee ha!” policy of our current administration. Woo Hoo!

Unfortunately he can run for president and continue to hold (and run for) his current congressional seat, so we are not rid of him yet. Bummer.

My money is still on John Edwards.

Lawyer/Lobbyist part deux is off

Holy turn of events batman.

The 2008 election just got even more interesting for Colorado. Republican front-runner to replace Allard just bowed out of the race. Seems a lock for Udall now, especially given that the repubs have no bench for this one. I hate to link to Colorado Pols, but. . ..http://www.coloradopols.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=2920#74904