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September 23, 2009 03:43 PM UTC

Wednesday Open Thread

  • 83 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols

“Therein lies the defect of revenge: it’s all in the anticipation; the thing itself is a pain, not a pleasure; at least the pain is the biggest end of it.”

–Mark Twain

Comments

83 thoughts on “Wednesday Open Thread

      1. I was watching cable news and suddenly there was the nauseating DeLay clip. Thanks for re-introducing into my head those revolting, nightmare images.  And, by the way, what ever happened to the indictment?  

        1. The indictment still stands, although one of the charges has been dropped, but it hasn’t gone to trial yet.

          Or maybe it did go to trial, and this was his punishment?

          I guess in a couple years Dancing with the Stars will feature Bernie Madoff and Nancy Garrido. Think they’ll do the tango?

  1. The first public forum for the Denver Public School Board of Education candidates is tonight, September 23, 5:30 PM to 7:00 PM  at Bruce Randolph Middle School, 3955 Steele Street, Denver, CO   80205.  Tele # (720) 424-1080

    1. Who did the Denver’s Teacher’s Union endorse? Go to Education News Colorado:

      http://ednewscolorado.org/page

      Which candidate will not attend tonight’s public forum and why?  Read the press release at:

      http://ednewscolorado.org/page

      A site run by some of those special interests?

      Want to read the current news on education? Go to:

      http://ednewscolorado.org/defa

      Want to know who is really influencing educational policy in the Colorado State Legislature: Go to:

      http://ednewscolorado.org/abou…  

      You are welcome.

  2. UFCW chieftain voted out

    Ernie Duran Jr., the longest-standing president of the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7 union, lost his re-election bid this week as union members approved sweeping leadership changes amid allegations of nepotism and misspent funds.



    In 2007, Crisanta Duran was paid $133,410 and Ernie Duran’s son, Ernie Duran III, was paid $134,378 as an executive staff member, according to Labor Department filings. The elder Duran earned $162,368 that year.

    “The nepotism was a big issue with the workers – Ernie hiring his family and putting them into high-paid positions,” Cordova said.

  3. JP fundraising pitch, now in the spam folder:

    Dear Friends,

    Our campaign for a New Day in Colorado is at a critical juncture. With just a week left in the fundraising quarter, we need your help to raise another $23,000 to reach our end of the quarter fundraising goal and bring real reform to Colorado–to get our state headed back in the right direction.  

    A recent online survey showed that I have a 17 point lead in the race to represent the Republican Party against Bill Ritter. Yet again, a sampling of the most in tune and politically astute show we’re leading the way.

    The ‘internet survey’ is a self-selected group of hard right-leaning respondents, according to the ‘poll’ information, which notes:

    Introducing the top-line results from the 2nd edition of the survey of Colorado’s political temperature. Exactly 500 people participated in the project. It’s not exactly scientific, but El Presidente and I created it to be more in-depth and meaningful than your run-of-the-mill straw poll.

    Bottom line? It’s becoming more apparent that Josh Penry is beginning to establish himself as the Republican frontrunner in the governor’s race, while the U.S. Senate primary seems to be turning into a tough, 3-way race on the GOP side.

    More on this ‘not exactly scientific’ fundraising tool:

    http://www.scribd.com/doc/2000

    http://www.thenextright.com/be…  

    1. who say America needs healthcare reform but do everything they can to prevent it are starting to be understood by thinking Americans.

      A new NBC/WSJ Poll shows that Americans will blame Republicans if healthcare reform does not pass.  This can’t be good news for heathcare hater propagandists like Josh “Flimflam Man” Penry.  Evidently Americans are smarter than Penry’s Mesa County teabagger backers and see how flimsy Penry’s lies are.  Americans blame the Penry crowd by nearly a 4 to 1 margin over those who blame President Obama for any reform failure. Of course, we all expect a very interesting year as we watch the R march to the political gallows.  

    1. the “teacher” at the beginning of the ad is the State Director of Concerned Women for America in Maine.

      If it really were about schools only, why are they not trying to amend their state constitution to prevent gay realtionships from being discussed in schools?  

  4. I will own up to belligerence without the flag wrap. Excellent kickoff speech by the candidate for HD 28 (South Jeffco), Steve Harvey.  

    “……..But we are faced with a fire-breathing dragon of blind ideology. We are faced with a dogma of mutual indifference, even belligerence, wrapped in a flag that was never woven for that purpose.”

    http://www.progressnowcolorado

            1. 1) Just what the world needs is another politician trying to be Sarah Palin. (I seem to remember another politician subjected to identical criticism not long ago…).

              2) I’ll be sure to strive to be stupider and more condescending, so as not to offend you.

              3) My shortest post was nothing but a period, probably the shortest on record on this, or any, blog.

              4) And even that drove MOTR to respond with two red-faced rants in succession, complete with idle threats rationalized by my interaction with another poster, an interaction which had long-since ended when the other poster apologized and I accepted his apology.

              See sig line below. Maybe it’s time to strive to be reasonable people of good will, rather than whatever it is you’re striving to be with all of this incessant nonsense of yours. Just a thought.

              1. Thanks for replying to yet another comment that wasn’t made to you. Just writing about you prompts such interesting replies! My goodness, what an ego you have for such a middle aged lad.

                And if you interpret my complete disdain for you as red-faced rants, you are going to have a tough time on the old door to door portion of your campaign, since you seem to have difficulty interpreting emotions and prefer to make things up whole cloth!

                Have a great day and try and stop stalking me. It just makes you look even creepier.

                Ciao for now!

                And while you are at it, feel free to take your own advice.

                    1. to merely be expressing your personal disdain for me, while I realize that the justification for that disdain is impeccable (my having pointed out long ago that your offer of advice did not obligate me to take it), why is it relevant to any dialogue that occurs here? This is a place for political discourse, not personal (and arbitrary) rancor.

                      You say I should take my own advice, yet it is not I who incessantly initiates these belligerent interactions. You say I am stalking you for responding exclusively to posts of yours that are either addressed to me or refer to me (for, other than that, you really are irrelevant to me), while you, conversely, feel compelled to express your personal disdain whenever I post here about anything (or, in this case, whenever anyone else posts about me), neither responding to your posts nor referring to you, even to the point of refusing to permit me to post anonymously if you recognize my writing style.

                      Who’s stalking whom?

                    2. Come on, Steve. Cut the crap. No one buys your martyr bullshit here.

                      Incessant is an excellent word to describe yourself. 🙂

                      Bye. I’m done. I just enjoy knowing that everyone at this site watches you show up, day after day, to only respond to me. I appreciate you reiterating my point about your stalking, obsessive behavior.

                    3. Just the simple facts. I only respond to you when you respond to me or write about me. You, on the other hand, respond to any mention of my name or whiff of my presence, and always with vitriolic diatribes. Not only do I not post “day after day, only in response to you,” but I have largely stopped posting at all because of these dynamics. Furthermore, I responded above to the four empty snipes toward me, only two of which were yours. I have not initiated one, not one, of these interactions with you. I’ve also reiterated several times that I have no hard feelings toward you whatsoever, while you have reiterited several times your “disdain” for me. These are all simple, irrefutable, facts.

                      Once again, I refer you to my sig line below.

                  1. Because apparently, he only replies to ME. Not to Ralphie. Odd, no? Considering that the last time he replied to me, it was also to a comment that wasn’t even made to him and he showed up 9 days later to address it.

                    And this is the guy running to represent us all in the State House. Yeah. Okay. Seems like a great choice to me, if you like obsessive compulsives who like to hold grudges.  

                    1. in this case you were at the bottom of the thread. (Note that he first addressed all the posts about him in order) If there are times when Ralphie or someone else is at the bottom and he jumps upthread to respond to you, I’ll grant you that. But not now.

                    2. You’re projecting again, MOTR. Nothing would delight me more than for all of us to simply engage in political discourse here, without all of the personal attacks. I have no grudge toward anyone, and have never acted as though I do. Responding sharply to someone else’s ad hominem attacks is not a grudge, but rather a reaction. A grudge is in evidence when someone responds to every post by, or reference to, a particular person with ad hominem attacks and threats.

                      The problem with hatred is that it blinds people, and wipes away their capacity for reason. Your habitual vitriolic harrassment may be annoying, but I certainly have no cause to hate you: I really don’t know you. Momentary anger is one thing, but I find it amazing that some of you here are able to muster such hatred so easily and maintain it for so long! Now that’s a grudge!

  5. Think Progress:

    At the Richmond Times-Dispatch “public square” forum yesterday, Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA) fielded open questions from his constituents on the health reform debate for the first time this summer.

    Patricia Churchill relayed a story about a close family member who recently lost a high paying job and her health insurance. Churchill told Cantor that her relative was dying of stomach tumors and needs an operation as soon as possible. Cantor responded by suggesting that Churchill’s relative should seek “existing government programs” or find charity.

    Guess Cantor really does  believe in government programs  as the best answer after all?    

  6. Not actually making light of this tremendous tragedy, my hometown of Austell was hardest hit.   FYI, Georgia recieves $1.01 for every dollar they pay in federal taxes.  Colorado receives 81 cents.  The top three states that receive federal money are New Mexico, Mississippi and Alaska, $2.03, $2.02 and $1.84 respectively.  Governor Perdue of Georgia is a Republican, but most Republicans down there drink lots of the Libertarian Kool-Aid.  Housing down there is pretty cheap by Denver standards, so $250 million is pretty substantial.

    “Gov. Sonny Perdue of Georgia declared a state of emergency in 17 counties and pleaded for federal aid, offering his appeal directly to President Obama on Tuesday night. The state insurance commissioner estimated that $250 million worth of damage had been done, mostly to homeowners without insurance.”

    http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09…  

    1. There’s a simple solution that doesn’t involve taxpayers bailing out the irresponsible Georgians: allow homeowners to buy insurance across state lines, tort reform, and co-ops. Until these bloodsucking flood victims stop turning to the federal government every time they lose their homes and property, they’ll never learn.

      1. Mandate home insurance, penalize those who don’t pay home insurance, and in return you can drop the co-op idea.  It’ll be more affordable, trust me…

        The other option is to see what government programs you already qualify for, and if you still can’t pay for the damages, there’s always charity.

      2. ….and if they are in a designated flood zone, they have to have flood insurance.

        Just like our house does, five feet above sea level.

        Another Republican politician pulling poop from his chute.

  7. More mishaps in the shale gas plays:

    Frustration increases for residents at Dunkard Creek

    By Ben Adducchio

    September 23, 2009 В· Local residents are getting restless as officials are still baffled by what is killing fish in Monongalia County’s Dunkard Creek.

    Residents found scores of dead fish on the creek banks earlier this month.

    …To date, more than 160 aquatic species have died along Dunkard Creek, in both West Virginia and Pennsylvania.

    At least eight of those species were mussels, unique to the creek.

    West Virginia Division of Natural Resources Biologist Frank Jernejcic says it may take decades for those species to recover.

    “It’s a real tragedy that we have eliminated such a large population of animals that have been there for probably centuries,” he said.

    “This was one of the only two or three streams in the whole Monongahela drainage in West Virginia that you had these animals.”

    Mike Zeto is the DEP’s Chief of Environmental Enforcement. He says mining might have contributed to the fish kill, but there are other possibilities, too.

    …”We have made an effort to evaluate the potential for midnight dumping, say from hollers (sic) of oil and gas waste in the area. There’s a lot of truck traffic in that area.”

    Zeto says local residents have reported seeing tanker trucks along the creek, leading to fears that companies were dumping wastewater from Marcellus Shale gas drilling.

    …One of those residents is 81-year old Jesse Graham, who hopes nothing like this ever happens again.

    “If I was young, and had family, and this problem did not get cleaned up, I certainly would get away from here,” he said.

    Meanwhile, here closer to home, crews are still work to mitigate the oil and gas industry acid spill in Cochetopa Creek two weeks ago, which got no media attention in Colorado–not from the ‘Western Slope’s Paper of Record’ and no where else.  The BLM issued a news release when it happened, and it quickly went down the memory hole.

    A colleague sent me this follow up that he requested from BLM:

    Hi – here’s an update on the situation:

    There has been no further impact on wildlife or fish other than that first day of the spill, with the fish kill.

    A cleanup is still underway. CDOT has lead and the authority on the clean-up. After first trying to use a french drain to drain any remaining water contaminated with citric-acid from the spill area with little success, CDOT now plans to excavate a 20-foot area, digging down 6 to 8 feet to get to ground water and pump out any remaining contaminated water.

    They continue to monitor the pH in the creek near the spill. It is showing to be about 7, rather than the usual 8, so there is still a residual effect on the pH of the creek, but not enough of one to impact the fish.

    CDOT and the contractor working on the cleanup are reportedly working well and communicating regularly with BLM and DOW and have been responsive to our concerns throughout the process.

    I hope this answers your questions. Let me know if there’s something specific you need to know that I have not covered here.

    ******************************************

    Erin Curtis

    Public Affairs Specialist

    Bureau of Land Management

    Meanwhile, attacking a recent poll that shows strong support for the FRAC Act, COGA spokesman Nate Strauch had this to say:

    Oil and gas industry representatives this week continued to assail a phone survey in Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District showing overwhelming support for federal regulation of a natural-gas drilling process called hydraulic fracturing.

    …”Fracking is adequately regulated by the state, and boasts a flawless safety record over the last six decades. The FRAC Act is nothing more than a superfluous layer of federal bureaucracy that would accomplish nothing but to raise our energy bills.”

    …Susan Alvillar, a spokeswoman for Williams Corporation, one of the most active natural-gas producers on Colorado’s Western Slope, also questioned the sample size of the survey.

    “In fact, 67 percent of 504 voters are in favor of the act,” Alvillar said. “There are over 360,000 voters in the Third Congressional District, which makes the number sampled – .1 percent – a very small number. Williams has fracked over 3,000 wells in the Piceance Basin and never had an issue with frack fluids contaminating shallow aquifers. We believe that the Colorado rules more than adequately protect shallow aquifers.”

    People living in the gasfields, we all know, have a much different story:

    The Marcellus Shale is big business, and damage so far is already big. According to an industry website, right now over 35 natural gas companies are competing for the opportunity to drill the Marcellus Shale. In Pennsylvania, 500 gas wells were dug in 2008, with thousands more planned. In 2008 and 2009, the west branch of the Susquehanna River, along with three other rivers, became polluted by wastewater from natural gas drilling, forcing the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to issue drinking water advisory notices in the Monongahela watershed. Clean Water Action reports that so far, fracking in Pennsylvania has resulted in several western Pennsylvania streams drying up.

    Although the industry assured residents that the process was safe because the technology had been “perfected,” in Dimock (northeastern PA), Norma Fiorentino’s drinking water well exploded on January 1, 2009 after being contaminated by natural gas. A River Reporter article, “Dimock’s Dilemma,” added that Norma had to lug jugs of water until Cabot Oil and Gas, which had been drilling the Marcellus Shale, provided temporary alternative water for her. Nine other households in Dimock had methane leak into their water. One resident commented, “flammable tap water can liven up any party.”

    Although 18 million people draw their drinking water from the Delaware River basin, public outcry so far has been muted in part because the industry has spent millions promoting the alleged benefits and “safety” of fracking in the Marcellus Shale. Hundreds of thousands of acres of public and private Pennsylvania land have already been leased with little to no public comment. As fracking moves eastward from the Susquehanna River watershed to the Delaware River watershed, that may change.

  8. Sentinel, ‘Breaking News’:

    http://www.gjsentinel.com/news

    Wolf hopes to be state senator in 2010

    Wayne Wolf, the Republican who lost his bid for Congress last year, is running for the state Senate in 2010.

    Wolf, a Cedaredge rancher and former Delta County commissioner, will take on Sen. Gail Schwartz, a Snowmass Democrat seeking her second term in Senate District 5, which runs south from Pitkin and Delta counties on the north to the New Mexico border.

    Wolf spoke with families and guardians of clients at the skilled-nursing unit at the Grand Junction Regional Center on Monday, but said he wasn’t taking an immediate position on the fate of the unit, which Gov. Bil Ritter ordered closed as a cost-saving measure.

    1.    I didn’t think so (or else Josh Penry would be representing the wrong district).    

        Wouldn’t Wolf make better waste of his time campaigning in Schwartz’ district?

        OTOH, what difference will it make…

  9. and not at all a conservative following Michele Bachmann’s perfectly reasonable and nonviolent advice.

    Census worker hanged

    WASHINGTON – The FBI is investigating the hanging death of a U.S. Census worker near a Kentucky cemetery. A law enforcement official says the word “fed” was scrawled on his chest.

    The body of Bill Sparkman, a 51-year-old Census field worker and occasional teacher, was found Sept. 12 in the Daniel Boone National Forest in rural southeast Kentucky.

    Investigators have said little about the case. A law enforcement official, who was not authorized to discuss the case and requested anonymity, tells The Associated Press the word “fed” was written on the dead man’s chest.

    FBI spokesman David Beyer said the bureau is helping state police determine if Sparkman’s death was the result of foul play, and if so, whether it was related to his census work.

  10. Fox says it will be Paul Kirk who is favored by the Kennedys.

    Michael Dukakis would be a choice welcomed by the large and influential Greek community in Massachusetts. Patrick is facing a tough reelection challenge and can use the appointment to shore up his support.  

    1. … or we may have to see him in that tank again.

       BTW, I ran into “the Duke” last year during the convention in the frozen foods section of Safeway at 6th and Corona.

    2. from way back college days. And, Obama’s been weighing in and his choice is Kirk, which would be a good move for Patrick, as Kirk has been thick with the Kennedys’ for years and would be a safe choice that would keep pretty much all Dems happy. I can’t see Dukakis getting the nod. I just can’t.

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