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December 08, 2011 04:29 PM UTC

Thursday Open Thread

  • 93 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols

“You can’t buy a bag of peanuts in this town without someone writing a song about you.”

–From Citizen Kane

Comments

93 thoughts on “Thursday Open Thread

    1. the label may not contain enough information, or maybe not verbalized properly, to assure that teens will use it correctly. Seems a hurdle easy enough to overcome and seems like a reasonable step to take.

      1. that she’s considering overturning yesterday’s decision if the label is corrected.

        She also said (essentially) that younger girls just didn’t have the brain development to take the medication properly.

        BTW, this is the first time EVER that an HHS Secretary has overridden the FDA on a matter of drug approval.

  1. It could very well be China & Bill Gates

    Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates confirmed Wednesday he is in discussions with China to jointly develop a new and safer kind of nuclear reactor.

    If this works out as expected it’ll be a superb source of green energy and can be replicated on a scale to replace coal. And the industry will be dominated by China, not the U.S.

    I think the fact that Gates felt the place to go for this was China, not the U.S., is a reflection of our declining leadership in science.

  2. To continue from our conversation yesterday of pilot-less planes, here’s some thoughts on driver-less cars.

    First, while many are discussing if this will occur (which tends to be more hell no I won’t give this up), the people working on this are moving it forward. And they will get the technology to the point that it is used by everyone. The question is not if, it’s when.

    Second, lets say a driverless car is slightly lees good than any of us on a good day (as Pols readers we are all of course above average drivers). It will still be better than a 17 year old kid impressing his friends, someone driving home from the bar after 4 drinks, and the mom in the minivan with 5 screaming kids who are all late for their after school events.

    When we reach this point for driverless cars we are all safer because the other cars on the road are less likely to get in an accident with us.

    Third, it will cut down on traffic congestion. Traffic will flow smoother and faster, first because each car will make better decisions on what speed in which lane to keep the traffic flowing at maximum speed. Second, because the reaction speed is faster, cars will be able to operate closer to each other.

    But it also is going to lead to some major changes. From Koushik Dutta – Google

    The operating percent of a car will go from 4% to that 96%. But back to my leading statement: there are unintended consequences. Parked cars will be a relic from the past. What happens to car insurance prices if a driver is no longer part of the equation? And if cars are receiving 20 times more actual use, that would imply that there would be 20 times less cars sold. This is the kind of disruptive change that can reshape the automotive industry. The recent GM/Chrysler bailout may have been for naught.

    Indirectly this will probably eliminate a lot of jobs. This is my core worry, technology is so rapidly eliminating jobs, and not creating replacement jobs, that we our possibly looking at permanent 20% unemployment. And we have to address that because our present system is not designed for this.

    1. and now nobody ever uses a stickshift?

      It’s cute when people who make shit up without any argument or evidence manage to agree with each other. Good job!

        1. I’ll be waiting for your report on personal rapid transit and how it will obviate the need for driving as soon as 30 years ago.

          More people use a stickshift to drive to work than use public transportation, fifty years after the wide availability of automatics. SUVs are still incredibly popular despite the fact that they’re more expensive, waste more gas, and are more dangerous than regular cars. And the price of gas has more than doubled in a few years without substantially reducing the number of daily drivers. There is something unique about owning and driving your own car in this country which has made people reject lots of better alternatives. I hate this fact and don’t really understand it myself, but it’s there, and you and the author make no effort to address it.

                1. Thanks for looking it up, but like I said, that’s still substantially more than the percentage who don’t drive to work. It might continue to decline, but it had 50 years to reach zero and still hasn’t.

                  The Google dude is proposing a PRT sort of model for cars. PRT is a very old idea. Why do you think it has never caught on? Because it’s hard to program? Or does it have the same problems as other forms of public transportation?

                  Obviously we’re not really arguing about something real here, it’s just speculating about what’s possible in the near future. But not all new technology revolutionizes our lives or gets widely adopted, and you seem to believe it does. That we inexorably move towards a more technologically perfect future.

                  I think a lot of innovations have basically been ignored when they don’t solve a significant problem people perceive. I’m sure you can think of examples (I have a few in mind If you can’t).

                  The computer-driven car, if it ever worked, would solve the problems of congestion, parking, efficiency, cost, etc. Fine. Except those problems exist and already have solutions that people don’t use. Something about the thrill of having one’s own cool little car in a color one likes and never sharing it and being in control while you’re driving is overwhelmingly popular, despite the fact that alternatives have already existed for decades. I see no evidence that this is the breakthrough any of those drivers have been waiting for.

                  1. And to what degree people will share cars is a big question. There are Go Cars and they seem to be increasing in usage, but they are still a tiny percentage of the total. So maybe this will stay minor. On the flip side, after decades of PRT not working, now it is (due in large degree to smart phones & the internet).

                    But I do think driverless cars will catch on? Yes because it will be so compelling to so many. It will be an option and people will use it more and more. It’s the option part that will get it in. It will be the convience and the fact that you arrive sooner that will make it the selected choice more often.

        2. on those cool Jetson hovercraft? If the economy keeps trending toward a tiny elite with opulent wealth and the rest of us as struggling masses, I wouldn’t count on many being able to afford those if-not-when self driving autos in a future that’s looking increasingly bleak for the 99%.

          1. (Isn’t that why God made feet for the rest of us?)

            . . . Although, I do hear muffled rumors out of Boulder that scientists and/or evolution and/or 3-D printers (depending upon whom you ask) will soon replace the need for human feet in the very near future — stay tuned.

  3. Howard Dean was leading in all the polling in just about every state.

    Gingrich doesn’t have a chance. He has had basically nobody in Iowa until the last few weeks. When he loses (behind Romney and Santorum), does anyone really think he wouldn’t have a similar meltdown that tanks his poll numbers everywhere else as well? He’s Newt Gingrich. Every time he gives a speech it’s a meltdown.

    Yes, I’m just posting this so that the whole thread isn’t taken up by David.

    1. I predict he will be the nominee…..he is pushing all the right buttons….with some help from frank lutz….

      the fact that dems are poo poo-ing his chance are an indication that he will do well…

      remember2010?  It was just last year…..remember 2009 when Brown won Kennedy’s seat while all the dems were on tv…..saying that MA could never put a republican in a kennedy seat….

        1. that you’re already fluffing Gingrich. You and he are both more about attention-getting ideas than good ideas and don’t particularly care if today’s opinion contradicts both yesterday’s and tomorrow’s in two different ways. Looking forward to your interview.

          1. He pushed hard for Clintons’ impeachment for an extramariatl affair while having one himself at the same time.

            He criticised Freddie Mac while taking 1.6 million from them.

            He’s the first pol to have the genius idea of shutting down the government.

            He’s calling for a psychopath to be his Secretary of State.

            He wiggled out of serving in Vietnam, along with psychopath mentioned above.

            He divorced his first wife while she was battling cancer.

            His rhetoric is going to get us into a war with Iran if he becomes President.

            The man is a shitbag, and happens to be the GOP’s flavor du jour.  Once the GOP circus-freak carousel stops though and he gets the nomination the intense scrutiny is not going to be kind to him.

            He is “flashy” though !

              1. NPR today, talking about Newt. She recounted a running joke at the House of Representatives that they had a big file full of Newts’ ideas…and a manila folder full of his good ideas.

                Her comment regarding his self proclaimed status as a transformational figure was something like…”Newt is really convinced that Destiny saved him a seat on the bus”. His megalomania is starting to shine through again.

                I don’t think Newt is going to make it to the convention. The rights’ big money guys are not happy with Romney or Gingrich (pronounced “Gingrick”, BTW…that was before politics, I guess).  

              2. and he had to pay a $300,000 fine due to his House reprimand (on a 395-28 vote).  Yeah that’s a bit of baggage that has yet to be explained or come out in his campaign run.  Newt burned a lot of bridges and hasn’t held elected office since.  What he has done is shovel $$s right & further right to buy some influence & support.

                Am I the outlier that truly believing Newt’s neutered come Feb 1st?  If he comes out on top at the end of January then I’m just gonna STFU for the rest of the year – I promise.

                1. at some point in the next few months, whether he’s the top candidate or not.  He can’t help himself.  The real question may be — does self-destruction mean he won’t be the anointed Republican candidate?  I’m not sure they’re mutually exclusive.

      1. and those candidates were also being pushed by talk radio. Jesus Christ you’re a one-noter, and you’re wrong more often than you’re right. Or do you think nobody remembers your gnashing of teeth over how Tancredo was going to win?

        Listening to Rush is starting to fuck up your brain.

        1. And, I was the first to admit it.

          I don’t listen to Rush.  

          It is not necessary to get so damm personal.  And who the hell are you spinning for, anyway??? These are opinions.  I get to make them.  David gets to make them. What’s it to you???? Offer some insights, if you are capable.

          You want the dems to not be concerned?  You think that hate doesn’t win??? What exactly is your problem?

          My observation is legitimate. Neither Bachmann nor Cain had the surge that Newt has had in the last ten days.  I listen to local talk radio…since there are over 100 hours a week locally.  If I turn off the radio, it just goes off in my house, it is still on all over the state and the 38 others.

          Get a gripe.

          1. why your hostile and patronizing tone elicited a hostile reaction from me, you’ve been…

            wait for it…

            WAIT for it…

            listening to too much right-wing talk radio.

            Seriously, you constantly act like politics began and ended with the election of Scott Brown. It’s your example for everything, and your predictions always seem to extrapolate from that one situation. Your predictions are always “Democrats are going to lose,” and your advice is always “Democrats need to do something,” and when asked for specifics it’s always “Remember Scott Brown!”

            Few people are taking into account that the Republicans have completely changed their nomination process, and it’s now much more similar to the Democrats’ in that delegates are distributed proportionally. That’s going to mean a much longer contest where a slight fluke victory (like McCain’s in Florida) is not going to completely shut out other candidates. Over such a long haul, Gingrich cannot possibly keep from fucking up and pissing off the electorate. Personally I think he will lose Iowa due to lack of organization (and the fact that one month left to go is plenty of time for him to blow it).

            You seem to disagree based on the fact that Gingrich is currently popular with conservatives on talk radio, and Scott Brown!

            1. I predicted the 2010 sweep in February 2009…based on what was happening on talk radio…..the MA race was entirely predictable to anyone listening to talk radio…

              too often the democratic response is limited to trashing the republicans and smugly concluding that  is all that has to be done….

              the democratic party is passive….there has been no organized response to the President’s constant call to lobby Congress..

              The most tragic thing that has happened right under  the nose of “organizing for america” has been the assault on voting rights…..OFA continues to register voters…..ignorant of the fact that the laws are changing so that when those voters show up to vote they are going to encounter demands for ID, etc.

              I don’t know what your problem is sxp151, unless you are a republican or working for OFA…

              Just leave me alone.  I am old.  I have earned the right to call them as I see them.. If you don’t like it, first I really don’t give a flying f#8K and second of all, go read someone else.

    1. He seemed pretty sure about running in CD-4.

      I’m not going to click on your article; apparently it’s so untrustworthy that even ArapaGOP hasn’t bothered to post it here.  

      1. But it’s no less trustworthy than Pols. Each site serves as a de facto propaganda arm of its respective political party. Neither should be considered a reliable source of information when it’s quoting unnamed sources as the basis of whatever rumor it’s propagating.  

    2. I’m not sure if I’m saddened or totally unsurprised that a Squarestate Monty Python alias is pushing Colorado Peak Politics bullshit. You people are already scraping the bottom of the no-traffic barrel, I suppose an alliance with that cauldron of right wing lies makes sense.

      Pols did not traffic in this bullshit rumor from Colorado Peak Politics, because unlike Squarestate and CPP, Pols has credibility. Is that a good enough answer for you, dipshit?

        1. And both of the sociopathic cretins who read and run your stupid fucking blog. I can’t solve your deep feelings of inadequacy and jealously over having a blog that sucks ass and that nobody reads, but you’re free to prove why it sucks ass and nobody reads it. As you do every time you post here.

          And I believe you just proved you’re the same Monty Python alias guy who was banned earlier this year. Notifying Guvs.

      1. My comment was not directed at you or anyone else who offered a fair argument for why it would or wouldn’t make sense for Romanoff to run in CD-6 in 2012.  

        1. of why it would either not be a good idea or wouldn’t matter much to the eventual outcome.  Perhaps you could remind us with links to all the comments “trashing” Romanoff on other grounds?

    3. http://www.joemiklosi.com/inde

      Endorsements for Congress

         Hundreds of neighbors throughout Arapahoe, Adams, Douglas, and neighboring counties.  The complete list is coming soon!

         Former Speaker of the Colorado State House of Representatives Andrew Romanoff

         Arapahoe County Commissioner and Campaign Co-Chair Frank Weddig

         Former Speaker of the Colorado State House of Representatives Terrance Carroll

         Former Lt. Governor Gail Schoettler

         Debra and Steve Weinstein

         Colorado State House Minority Leader Mark Ferrandino

         Colorado Assistant Minority Leader and State Representative Nancy Todd and Terry Todd

         State Senator Suzanne Williams

         State Senator Morgan Carroll

         Patricia Barela Rivera

         Gene Lucero

         State Representative Su Ryden

         State Representative Rhonda Fields

         State Senator Linda Newell

         Former State Representative Alice Borodkin

         Councilwoman Peggy Lehmann

         Former Congressman John Salazar

         Former State Representative Gwyn Green

         Former Jefferson County Commissioner Kathy Hartman

         Golden Mayor Jacob Smith

         The Honorable Polly Baca

         Mike Stratton

         Jefferson County School Board Member, Sue Marinelli

         Former Aurora City Councilman Larry Beer

         Former State Representative Angie Paccione

         Broomfield City Councilman Bob Gaiser

         Centennial City Councilwoman Rebecca McClellan

         Former Arapahoe County Treasurer Doug Milliken

         State Representative Ed Casso

         State Representative Lois Court

         State Representative Crisanta Duran

         State Representative Randy Fischer

         State Representative Deb Gardner

         State Representative Dickey Lee Hullinghorst

         State Representative Matt Jones

         State Representative Daniel Kagan

         State Representative John Kefalas

         State Representative Andy Kerr

         State Representative Jeanne Labuda

         State Representative Pete Lee

         State Representative Claire Levy

         State Representative Beth McCann

         State Representative Wes McKinley

         State Representative Dan Pabon

         State Representative Sal Pace

         State Representative Cherylin Peniston

         State Representative Millie Hamner

         State Representative Sue Schafer

         State Representative Judy Solano

         State Representative John Soper

         State Representative Max Tyler

         State Representative Ed Vigil

         State Representative Angela Williams

         State Representative Roger Wilson

         State Representative Dave Young

      Anyone see the name “Brandon Shaffer” on that list?

      1. Why haven’t people raged against Irene Aguilar?

        What about the dastardly Betty Boyd. Why hasn’t she endorsed yet?

        Why, I also noticed that Pat Steadman, Joyce Foster, and Mike Johnston haven’t endorsed yet either.

        They really need to be tried by the court of “Ellis”.

    4. is a property of Craig Hughes Industries Inc., and ColoradoPols is likewise a full-fledged affiliate of said political entrepreneur Mr. Hughes, we can probably guess right now how the rest of this pre-scripted bullshit is going to play out in the near future here at Pols.  

        1. with all the big scawy bullies who’ve been picking on poor-wittle you for so long here at Pols, Libby? Maybe if they see you trying to bully someone else, they’ll let you become one of them. You pathetic simple-minded dipshit.

            1. There are multiple juvenile dipshits running around with the same alias. However will I cope with all these big tough scawy bullies twying to gang up on me?

              1. with a “my bad, silly oversight” probably would have been a better idea. There is nothing quite so insufferable as self righteous over earnestness.  You know.  Like what we had to put up with Romanoff diehards.

                1. … not knowing that Dipshit and Dipshit 2.0 are two different emotionally-stunted ass-clowns? Frankly, that’s not exactly high on my list of must-know information.

              1. Because that’s always been the best response to trolls on Pols. Maybe a bread recipe, in honor of the most intersting posts that appear on the other blog?

  4. from any CO legislator re working on ballot access next session?

    We have largely expressed agreemnt that ALL registered voters ought to receive mail in ballots if they have previously requested it.

    Additionally, especially since the Post Office is going to reduce service, I think those ballots ought to be sent out a week earlier. I know one US governement employee serving in Africa that received his ballot the Friday before the election. Went to great effort to get it back in time but it is doubtful.

  5. The Innumeracy of Educators, or Mark Twain Was Right

    The problem is, having horribly flubbed a really basic math test doesn’t shake Mr. Roach’s self-image as an educated person, because it is socially acceptable for an “educated person” to know next to nothing about math. Where in a sane world, complaining that this sort of math is hopelessly impractical and not the sort of thing we should be testing would lead educated people to point at Mr. Roach and laugh (as I’m doing above), In this world, alas, it gets him the central role in sympathetic blog articles hosted by one of the nation’s premier newspapers.

    That’s just not right. The problems above are the sort of thing that ought to be a minimum requirement for someone to claim to be educated. Let alone to be making budget and policy decisions for an entire school district. If you’re going to vote in an election, you ought to be able to handle all of the above problems, because those are the sort of basic mathematical operations needed to do a minimal evaluation of any candidate’s economic proposals.

  6. APNewsBreak: EPA implicates hydraulic fracturing in groundwater pollution at Wyoming gas field

    CHEYENNE, Wyo. – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for the first time has implicated fracking – a controversial method of improving the productivity of oil and gas wells – for causing groundwater pollution.

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/

    1. to eliminate the EPA.

      Expect industry to respond by:  1). saying this is just one, likely flawed opinion;  2). saying that until now there has been no study implicating fracking (gotta love that logic, huh?);  3). reissuing a previous (Haliburton) study circa 1985 which says fracking is totally safe, and in many cases actually restores the underground aquifers to previous more pristine conditions; 4). agree that the issue is very complicated and warrants further study (to be completed sometime around the time those hovercraft are ready to fly and the last drops of petroleum and byproducts have been sucked from the earth’s crust).

  7. “Listening to Rush is starting to fuck up your brain.”

    People disagree with me all the time.  I love a good fight.  This isn’t a “good fight.”  Yours are sour, bitter and snide comments.

    I don’t know what your motivation is.

    My prediction that sadly was also accurate was the one I made in February of 2009.  I said that the republicans would sweep in 2010.  They did.

    I think that talk radio is a destructive force in my country because it is almost all controlled by one party.

    It is a propaganda machine and an organizing tool,

    I rant against its power.  

    I don’t know what it is that you think you have to offer.

    1. I don’t listen to Rush Limbaugh.  I listen to the Bs.. .Bennet and Boyles, so I know what the republican talking points will be all day…who the targets for hate will be…

      “Repeat a lie often enough and people will believe it is the truth.”

      100 hours a week of local talk hate radio …

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