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June 07, 2010 03:55 PM UTC

Monday Open Thread

  • 122 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols

“Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.”

–Thomas Edison

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122 thoughts on “Monday Open Thread”

  1. give Power Broken at 5280 a read. Brilliantly written and chock full of juicy details of major Denver players.

    Never mind that it was Barack Obama as a “Man of the Year” on the GQ cover poster on display. As Shepherd would make clear days later while dressing down one of his subordinates, he regarded this convention to be his moment. This was the time, he told colleagues, when he would make the jump: Maybe he would be appointed Colorado’s U.S. attorney; maybe he’d get a seat in Obama’s cabinet.

    But there would be no lofty political appointments for Shepherd. Much of his persona, his chauffeured SUV, even his new physique were all part of a faГ§ade. Soon, two attorneys that worked with Shepherd would expose the real Willie E. Shepherd Jr. In time, the scandal would transcend the man at the center of it all. It would raise a Pandora’s box of troubling questions: about the ethics of some of Shepherd’s fellow KSR partners, namely Kamlet and Reichert; about how the Colorado Supreme Court polices the state’s lawyers; and about the way the town’s establishment does business. As one well-placed source would put it, “It’s not Watergate, but it’s as close as Denver’s going to get.”

    And big thanks to the guy that originally forwarded this to me.  

            1. about these 3 being Dems. Of course, they may be, they may have recently converted in hopes of getting access to govt $. But, the fact is, the dude wasn’t hired by the Obama administration. They may have been astute or they may have gotten lucky.

          1. we’re not really all that sane?  🙂

            You’re right, of course, that the balance between calling people on their bullshit and leaving their bullshit to speak for itself was missed, and badly. And there’s no good excuse for it: We get our dander up, and we just can’t let it go. But there is a reason for feeling passionately about not letting such voices go unchallenged.

              1. Just like all other destructive behaviors. It’s being constructive that is the challenge.

                BTW, you’ve even failed to be successfully obnoxious this time. Even though I said it in jest, and you were attempting again to take something out of context in order to distort its meaning (a weapon of those who recognize their inability to counter the authentic statements of those they oppose, of course), it’s really more-or-less a truism, that there is an inherently imperfect correspondence between human cognitions and the objective reality to which they refer.

                2. But the question mark was referring to “why don’t you just stop responding?”, not to the “am I sane?” part. And apparently I was successful enough to elicit a few comments from you in response.

        1. I really felt like I learned something after reading it.

          I only knew a little about the story before reading the article and now I feel like I know a lot.  That is a good piece of investigative journalism.

  2. When people steal from the government, it’s “government waste”.

    When people steal from companies, it’s the suspect’s fault. When people steal from the government, it’s the government’s fault.

    This does not make any sense to me.

  3. Especially Norton – from TPM

    We’ve gone through the last six months or so assuming that Sue Lowden, the establishment anointed Republican in the Nevada Senate race, would be the one to take on Harry Reid this fall. But yet another poll suggests she’ll very likely lose on Tuesday. The latest poll out over the weekend from Mason-Dixon shows new frontrunner and Tea Party favorite Sharron Angle at 32%, followed by Danny Tarkanian at 24% and Lowden at 23%.

    1. When the first post-assembly Rasmussen poll comes out this week, Norton will be behind Buck for the first time.  Now she is seizing upon his self-deprecating humor when he is quoted as saying:


      Buck was asked directly whether his upstart campaign would really work. He summed up why so many conservatives like him – and why so many political observers wonder how far he can go.

      “I don’t know that I can win,” Buck said. “But I am what I am.”

      Norton’s response was to tout her “electability” stating


      “I can reach out to Hispanics, to women, to young people.

      So now Norton is having to defend herself on Redstate for supporting amnesty for illegals.  Last week it was “Can Jane Norton think for herself?” and “Are you kidding me?!?!?!”

      Today the article is entitled “Jane Norton takes from Charlie Crist’s Playbook & Broadcasts She’s Soft on Immigration”:

      http://www.redstate.com/erick/…

      Norton seems to be able to generate lots of press, but recently it is mostly bad press.

      1. That seemed like a particularly low, and misplaced, blow from Norton. Does that resonate with any Republicans, or does it seem detached from reality?

        2. She is going to have to transition from ahead and losing ground to behind and need to stop the bleeding. Nothing so far has worked.

          At this stage they are desperately throwing everything against the wall, hoping something will stick.

          The problem is when it doesn’t it just keeps the bleeding going.

          Now she finds herself written up as another ill-chosen NRSC loser. Once she is part of that story, compared to Trey Grayson, etc, etc, there is no way out.

          I think colopols big line has it right.  It is now Buck’s race to lose.  

          He is smart enough not to do that.

    2. Doesn’t IMHO mean the same results will occur for Norton and McInnis as for Lowden.

      Lowden, if you’ll recall, is the candidate who proposed the ChickenCare health care reform system.  She’s been in freefall ever since, and a chicken for every doctor’s visit has become such a joke within the campaign that the state of Nevada actually barred chicken costumes from the polling areas.

      Most political races can be boiled down to some extent to “all politics is local” – at least to that race.  Norton and McInnis should be lucky that their gaffes have been comparatively minor; at least they haven’t made national news with theirs.

      3. You may be right on McInnis but Norton has had enough “Chicken care” moments that are local legend some of which are becoming national.

        National repubs who read RedState are seeing her step on herself on a daily basis.

  4. If you live in the 2nd Congressional District please take a minute to contact Rep. Polis, thank him for considering the Hidden Gems proposal, and urge that he introduce legislation to protect ALL these lands.  

    Learn more at whiteriverwild.org  

      1. and not only with Hidden Gems. Cong. Polis is extremely well informed about transportation and forest health as well. He doesn’t represent me, but I wish he did

  5. Today’s NY Times on page A14 has a chart that says 1 barrel = 42,000 gallons.  It’s actually 1 barrel = 42 gallons.

    Nitpicky?  Maybe.  But, I’ve been furious at the media response to the Gulf disaster from the beginning.  This is yet another example of shoddy journalism that still relies on BP and the government’s assertions regarding the “leak”.  It’s a freaking gusher and they still haven’t told the truth about what’s happening and the future impacts.

    And, our very own Ken Salazar will soon be feeling well-deserved heat by not acting more aggressively against MMS from day 1.  I thought it was political genius to kick Salazar upstairs to Interior and replace his questionable support for Obama’s agenda with Michael Bennet who is a true Obama supporter.  I guess Salazar should have been kicked over to something like the Bahamas Ambassador or something, rather than be placed in charge of an agency that needed a real ass-kicking, not milquetoast “moderation”.  

    1. Massive Flow Of Bullshit Continues To Gush From BP Headquarters

      LONDON-As the crisis in the Gulf of Mexico entered its eighth week Wednesday, fears continued to grow that the massive flow of bullshit still gushing from the headquarters of oil giant BP could prove catastrophic if nothing is done to contain it.

      The toxic bullshit, which began to spew from the mouths of BP executives shortly after the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in April, has completely devastated the Gulf region, delaying cleanup efforts, affecting thousands of jobs, and endangering the lives of all nearby wildlife.

      “Everything we can see at the moment suggests that the overall environmental impact of this will be very, very modest,” said BP CEO Tony Hayward, letting loose a colossal stream of undiluted bullshit. “The Gulf of Mexico is a very big ocean, and the volume of oil we are putting into it is tiny in relation to the total volume of water.”

      Enlarge ImageHayward’s comments fueled fears that the spouting of overwhelmingly thick and slimy bullshit may never subside.

      According to sources, the sheer quantity of bullshit pouring out of Hayward is unprecedented, and it has thoroughly drenched the coastlines of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida, with no end in sight.

      http://www.theonion.com/articl…

    2. when 5,000 barrels became 5,000 Gallons

      then when independent Scientists really thought about it, the number shot up to 40,000 Barrels a day. or 1,680,000 Gallons per day.



      yet BP/Fox still reports only 5,000 Barrels a day.

      1. Your support came a little too late, though.  

        My Monday Rant continued when I just canceled my Newsweek subscription of 30+ years.  I hate their new format.  In particular, they’ve stopped providing biographical information about their essayists in “The Take”.  Now, I know Fareed Zakaria and Paul Samuelson along with their particular biases.  But, who the hell is Rana Foroohar who had “reporting for this piece was funded in part by the International Reporting Project.”  Who??  Give me a break.  And, I’m fed up with the perpetually furrowed Jon Mecham on “Morning Joe” as we watch his internal struggle between his religulous beliefs and the real world play out on his brow.

        1. TIME to let the subscription lapse.  Along with Newsweek.  

          Such air puff journalism that my mother goes through either mag in a few minutes.  

          Henry Luce might have made journalism “popular” in format, but it was in depth and probing compared to today’s masquerade of morons and stenographers (no intent to slightly stenographers, if there are any left) that call themselves journalists.

  6. Have reporters lost all ability to ask the obvious questions?

    June 7 (Reuters) – BP Plc (BP.L) (BP.N) plans to increase the collection of oil at the site of the ruptured oil well in the Gulf of Mexico to about 20,000 barrels per day, the U.S. Coast Guard said on Monday.

    No where does the article mention that until yesterday BP (and the gov’t apparently happy with BP’s estimate in spite of the 1,000 bbls, we mean 5,000 bbls, we mean 12,000-19,000 bbls) was claiming less than that in total leakage AND that the cap won’t get it all.  Seriously, what do they teach in reporter school these days–write down whatever an authority figure tells you and shut your little notebook?  

    http://www.reuters.com/article…

    1. Several weeks ago I read an online WSJ story about Detroit Shrinking itself. Featured Mitt Romey’s boyhood home that will be torn down.

      http://finance.yahoo.com/real-…

      In a nutshell, the story is about how Detroit plans on tearing down thousands of houses to reduce the housing stock in a city decimated by a loss of employment (the auto and related industries) and the housing collapse.

      The younger Mr. Romney, who is considered a leading GOP presidential candidate for 2012, said “it’s sad” that his childhood home is being razed, “but sadder still to consider what has happened to the city of Detroit, which has been left hollow by fleeing jobs and liberal social policies.”

      I was wondering what “liberal social policies” contributed to the economic demise of Detroit, so I emailed the WSJ reporter, Alex Kellogg, and asked what “liberal social policies” Romney was talking about. About a week later Kellogg sent me a reply email and said:

      “I’m not sure. He didn’t elaborate. Thank you for writing”

      Does that answer your question CT ?

  7. Just in from the AP

    W.Va. gas well explosion send flames 70 feet high

    MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – A crew drilling a natural gas well through an abandoned coal mine in West Virginia’s Northern Panhandle hit a pocket of methane gas that somehow ignited, triggering an explosion that burned seven workers, a state inspector said Monday.

    Another Marcellus shale well. About 25 miles from where I grew up.  

    2. The coal industry, like oil, is also in bed with the Interior Dept.

      Salazar said “there’s a new sheriff in town” when he became Interior Secretary.  I’d like to know who he’s put in jail.  

      1. and new laws that are worth enforcing.  If he can get the manpower to do things right, I’d say it’s time to start the equivalent of going after the mob on tax evasion – any law you can find that might marginally apply, use it.  (E.g. someone is now suing BP under the Endangered Species Act and the Migratory Bird Act; the penalties for killing protected species can be in the tens of thousands of dollars per animal.)

        The entire DOI has been gutted over the past several decades.  It’s barely a shell of what it used to be, and it never was all that great to start with.

  8. but every time I hear that commercial with the BP guy, I just want to slap the snot out of him.

    I hate to break it to BP but their ad is having the opposite of the desired effect on me.  

    1. When I heard BP was already rolling out the $50 million “We’re sorry. We’re really sorry” ads all I could think was shut the fuck up and clean up your mess.

      1. particularly during the evening newscasts. I actually thought it was a parody the first time I saw it because it came right after a 10 minute segment on CBS Nightly News that covered all aspects of the damage, the ongoing spill, damage to the wildlife, economy, local fisheries and businesses…and then the ad. It’s in such poor taste.

        I’d love it if they would just skip the full page ads in the WSJ, the NY Times and their $50 million ad buy and just shut up and stop worrying about whether their board of directors will be issuing dividends this quarter (as reported on NPR this morning.)  

      1. I think it was the 2nd “bonus” word that might have put the Associate Dean in a bad mood, speaking of carefully pronounced words.

        They all get to graduate so all’s well that ends well.  

    1. But I know several kids who were raised by two mommies, and I have to say they would definitely confirm the findings of that study. Some of the best behaved kids I’ve ever met–of course, once they’re teenagers, I’m sure it will all go to hell.    🙂

    2. Yeah, other things being equal, I’d want a man and a woman.  But in the world in which we live, other things are never equal.  

       Two lesbians or two gay men, if they are sensitive, respohnsible, and loving, come pretty close to the ideal.

        I have enormous admiration for the single mom or dad who tries to balance breadwinner/caregiver roles for his or her kid or kids.  But it’s an uphill climb because there are only so many hours in the day.

        But a loving single parent is still miles ahead of a two-parent family where they are so absorbed with themselves or with fighting each other than they neglect the kids.

         It’s hard to stereotype but of all the factors in the mix, I’m inclined to assign relatively little weight to the sexual orientations of the parents.  

      1. If the parent has the time and the dedication for their child, I think the kid’s doing pretty well.

        Ideally, two parents are better than one not just because two parents can better handle the workload, but also I think the extra re-enforcement of love from a second person is a good thing.  But as you say, I’d rather be a boy or girl growing up with one loving parent than with two parents who could care less, or two parents arguing with each other all the time.

  11. Two men have been charged with conspiring to threaten U.S. Rep. Bart Stupak and his family because of the Michigan Democrat’s crucial vote for the health care overhaul, federal authorities said Monday.

    The U.S. attorney’s office in Bay City identified the suspects as Russell Hesch, 73, of West Branch, and his son, 50-year-old David Hesch of Loveland, Colo.

    http://www.chicagotribune.com/…

  12. “I was down there a month ago before most of these talking heads were even paying attention to the Gulf. A month ago I was meeting with fishermen in the rain talking about what a potential crisis this could be. [snip] I talk to these folks because they potentially have the best answers — so I know whose ass to kick,”

    – Barack Obama

    Obama was in Kalamazoo, Michigan, to speak to graduating high school students. NBC aired a portion of the interview on Monday evening in advance of Tuesday’s “Today” program.

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