What's up people?

As usual, I'll be on the Mario Solis-Marich show later tonight on AM760.

If you listen you'll hear that my voice still haven't recovered from Netroots Nation 08.

Here's our promo for the Liberal Card.  If anyone has a business who'd like to offer discounts to card carrying liberals, let me know.

BTW, I'll put another photo from the trip after the fold

group shot of living liberally caucus.  Yes, that is Markos in the middle with his squirmy daughter.

The Bush administration has drafted new rules in their attempt to keep us dependent on oil, while transferring more Colorado lands and resources into the hands of their largest donors. The Bush plan accelerates oil-shale development in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming, rather than investing in alternative fuels. Still many years away from even potential results, the plan is being sold as an emergency short term response to current energy prices.

Anne C. Mulkern of the Denver Post writes:
Environmental groups that oppose oil-shale development said the 235- page BLM document with preliminary rules is unnecessary. In it, the BLM states that "currently, there is no oil-shale industry and the oil-shale extractive technology is still in its rudimentary stages."

"The only benefit that could come from this would be for those seeking partisan political gain in trying to give the impression that ... this oil-shale industry has a role to play in impacting high energy prices," said Chase Huntley, policy adviser with the Wilderness Society.

The administration is blocked from taking further action by a Congressional moritorium that expires on Oct. 1st. Sen. Ken Salazar, the author of the original ban, seeks to extend the current rules until 2009.

Sen. Salazar:
"Before we move ahead with commercial leasing, we need to know what impact oil shale will have on Western water supplies, whether the technology will work on a commercial scale, where we would get the power for the projects, and what effect it would have on our land and wildlife."

Rep Madden is currently attending the National Conference of State Legislatures and the National Labor Caucus.  There she spoke on a panel about renewable energy while propping up our stumbling economy.

I spoke with Rep Madden on the phone yesterday just after her session.  The combination of renewable energy and the economy is best talked about in terms of green jobs she said.  There have been too many occasions where companies have come to Colorado but had to import skilled workers as they couldn't find specific ones here.  That has to change said Madden.  

We're already making progress with a change of political will across the country on renewable energy and global warming.  Madden has helped pass several bills which encourage renewable energy development.

The conference was also an opportunity to share and exchange ideas with legislators from other states.    One idea developed from the conference was a bill that allow the Governor's energy office to set up programs in our colleges and universities to give students the very skills needed in this new industry.  We want Coloradans in those jobs to help our economy. Another idea centered around small cheap electric cars.  Currently when these vehicles don't have airbags they must be limited to 25mph like a golf cart.  Madden described how this is not something that's marketable to many people.  She wants to search for a way to change the requirements and also perhaps improve the safety of these vehicles so their top speed limiter can be removed.  These cars, currently costing under $10k could be useful city cars when they can keep up with traffic.

Madden also pointed to Xcel's plan to install smart electric meters throughout the city of Boulder, ideas such as solar powered parking meters that could conceivable be free parking and charging stations for electric and plug-in-hybrid cars.
We had such a good conversation that I mentioned our SquareState Platform Caucus.  She agreed to lead a discussion on renewable energy if our schedules allow for her to participate.  

Now, I suppose, since I'm acting like a "real journalist" I should provide the counter balance they say is necessary.  So, I will insert a typical quote from Jon Caldara, "Democrats hate America and want electric cars to ruin our economy"  Of course, the only part of the economy electrical cars could hurt is the oil industry who likely donates to Mr. Caldara.

When McCain confuses Sunni and Shiite I can give him the benefit of the doubt.  When he says Iraq shares a border with Afghanistan there's still some of me thinking it was just an honest slip of the tongue.

But his latest failed attempt at recalling actual events leaves little room to think he is a man without the capabilities of digesting what the world has happened and is happening in the world, let alone Iraq.

Sadly, this isn't the shame here.  That honor goes to Katie Couric's CBS Evening News covering it up, editing the interview to remove McCain's complete and utter lack of understanding.

rogereaton at Daily Kos brings it to light a piece from Keith Olbermann you can watch here:

For those would rather read, follow me below...
Here's Couric's question:

Couric: Senator McCain, Senator Obama says, while the increased number of US troops contributed to increased security in Iraq, he also credits the Sunni awakening and the Shiite government going after militias. And says that there might have been improved security even without the surge. What's your response to that?

Here's what McCain actually said:

McCain: I don't know how you respond to something that is as-- such a false depiction of what actually happened. Colonel McFarlane [phonetic] was contacted by one of the major Sunni sheiks. Because of the surge we were able to go out and protect that sheik and others. And it began the Anbar awakening.

Turns out, this statement is just not true.  The Anbar Awakening actually began on in August of 2006--months before the world was graced with the term surge.  Once again John McCain is trying to make an argument based on something completely and demonstrably false.

So what did CBS and Katie Couric decided to show the American people instead for the answer to this question?

McCain: Senator Obama has indicated by his failure to acknowledge the success of the surge that he would rather loss a war then loss a campaign.

That's right.  They replaced "foreign policy expert" McCain's bungling facts about Iraq (again) with a hallow talking point answer he actually gave to another question.

Mark Ambinder of The Atlantic has the transcript as well.

And to Katie Couric and CBS: I like BBQ just as much as the next guy (and if you're ever in Austin, go to the Ironworks), but to surrender your credibility, objectivity and, independence as a news organization for some Pulled Pork?

New poll from Rasmussen today:

Pres - July (June)
Obama - 49 (43)
McCain - 42 (41)

Here, Obama still leads among unaffiliated voters, but not as much as in June.  Dems and Republicans are both supporting their party's candidate at nearly 90%.

and then there is the Senate:

Senate - July (June)
Udall - 47 (49)
Schaffer - 43 (40)

In this poll, Udall's lead among unaffiliated voters was sliced from 21 points in June to only 4 now.

By Wade Buchanan
President
The Bell Policy Center

The Bell Policy Center, which has focused a great deal of attention on understanding and explaining the effects of TABOR, is making SAFE, the Savings Account for Education, a top priority this year.

We believe SAFE (Initiative 126), the brainchild of outgoing House Speaker Andrew Romanoff, is the critical next step in restoring fiscal sanity to Colorado. The measure will help make permanent the gains the state made when it passed Referendum C in 2005, and it will help untangle some of the knots we have tied in our state constitution over the years.

After a late start, the SAFE campaign is rapidly gaining speed. Supporters are raising money and gathering petition signatures, and the campaign has retained RBI Strategy and Research to prepare for the general election.

We are convinced this is the right year for this measure. By all accounts, a record number of voters will turn out this November, including larger-than-usual numbers from groups we think stand to benefit most from improved investments in education and other important state services.
SAFE will dedicate surpluses above the TABOR revenue cap created by Ref C to the State Education Fund. It also creates a savings account within that fund as a hedge against future hard times. In effect, the measure would permanently relieve public education and other important services from future cuts that would otherwise be dictated by the Taxpayers Bill of Rights. TABOR, passed by voters in 1992, mandates the nation's strictest spending limitation on all levels of government in the state.

Other provisions of TABOR will remain in full effect, including the requirement that voters approve any tax increase. SAFE would simply ensure the state can retain the revenues it collects under existing taxes to support important public structures that underpin our economy.

The measure would also sunset the requirement that spending on P-12 education increase by at least the rate of inflation after 2011. That requirement was part of Amendment 23, passed by Colorado voters in 2000. The interaction between the TABOR spending limit and the Amendment 23 spending requirement has become one of the most prominent examples of conflicting provisions in the state Constitution.  

Not long after we opened our doors seven years ago, the harmful effects of TABOR were becoming painfully apparent, and resulting research by the Bell and others shined a light on how TABOR's strict spending limits prevented state and local services from keeping pace with the needs of a growing state. Residents faced continual cuts in services from one year to the next.

The downsizing of services has been dramatic under TABOR, with the state general fund budget shrinking in comparison to the overall state economy by more than 25 percent between 1992 and 2002. That's why Colorado is now at or very near the bottom of all states when it comes to the investment it makes in critical public structures and services.

We believe there is a direct link between these historically low investments and negative outcomes we have seen from our public structures - dangerously low high-school graduation rates, double-digit tuition increases, low college attendance rates, deteriorating roads and bridges and growing waiting lists for important services, to cite only a few.

Earlier this year, our colleagues at the Colorado Children's Campaign released a report showing that, during the first half of this decade, the number of children living in poverty in Colorado increased by a staggering 73% - by far the highest rate of growth in the country. While this mirrors a troubling national trend, we believe it is most pronounced in Colorado in large part because our lowest-in-the-nation budget has forced us to shrink and even dismantle many of the programs that make up the safety net for these families and kids.

SAFE will not solve these problems. But it would be the next logical step in digging our state out of the hole that TABOR has created. We started the digging-out process in 2005 when we passed Referendum C, a measure that prevented nearly $1 billion in further cuts to the state budget and allowed state services to recover modestly from the post-9/11 recession. The first phase of Ref C gave the state a five-year time-out from the TABOR spending limits, but its second phase will return us to a strict spending limit, similar to the previous TABOR limit, that once again will force service cuts over time.

Perhaps the best way to understand the SAFE proposal, then, is as a measure that will make permanent the gains from Referendum C. Like Referendum C, it will not change tax rates or allow the state to collect one cent more than it will already collect from taxpayers. What it will do is allow the state to keep revenue above TABOR's limits and use it to support preschool through 12th grade education.

And while the most direct benefits will be for education, the fact that SAFE will allow the state to retain future surpluses means that many future cuts from other services are likely to be avoided. It's not a panacea, but it is a major step in the right direction.

Extree, extree, read all about it...........

At Netroots Nation this year the second annual PubQuiz took place. The idea - form a team and answer politial minutiae. AdamB from Daily Kos is the host. Our team, Shock and Awesome, was ready for the challenge. But we soon were "shocked" to discover we weren't as "awesome" as we thought.
Sure, we can answer questions like the President of South Africa or who is considered the "father of Texas", but really, who knew the name of the three women lawyers on Law and Order or the name of the horse that was put down during the Triple Crown?

Well apparently the team that included pacified and alan did because, in the end, their team reportedly ended up in the top three. Congrads gentlemen. Meanwhile, our team drowned our sorrows in the margaritas at Maggie Mae's later that night (which btw, would give the Rio margaritas in Boulder stiff competition).

But I digress. On to trivia. The questions below were from the PubQuiz. Oh, and btw, the answer to #6 is so surprising, if no one else gets it by later tonight, I'll post the answer.

Good luck!

UPDATE: The answer to #6, if you can believe it, is John Tyler our tenth President who served from 1841 - 1845. I'm assuming this is the article AdamB referenced when he came up with the question. Both John Tyler and his son fathered children in their 70s. The grandson is in his 80s.

#1 - Fill in the blank - During the primaries, Mike Huckabee said, "Folks, I didn't major in math. I majored in ______."  

#2 - In what place did Guiliani place in the Florida primary?

#3 - What is Lady Bird Johnson's first name? Bonus: What is her middle name?

#4 - This former Speaker of the House (and Texan) once described the office of the Vice President as being "not worth a bucket of warm piss". Who is he?

#5 - Name at least one of Mitt Romney's sons.

#6 - Who is the earliest President to still have a living grandchild?
 

At Netroots Nation this year the second annual PubQuiz took place. The idea - form a team and answer politial minutiae. AdamB from Daily Kos is the host. Our team, Shock and Awesome, was ready for the challenge. But we soon were "shocked" to discover we weren't as "awesome" as we thought.
Sure, we can answer questions like the President of South Africa or who is considered the "father of Texas", but really, who knew the name of the three women lawyers on Law and Order or the name of the horse that was put down during the Triple Crown?

Well apparently the team that included pacified and alan did because, in the end, their team reportedly ended up in the top three. Congrads gentlemen. Meanwhile, our team drowned our sorrows in the margaritas at Maggie Mae's later that night (which btw, would give the Rio margaritas in Boulder stiff competition).

But I digress. On to trivia. The questions below were from the PubQuiz. Oh, and btw, the answer to #6 is so surprising, if no one else gets it by later tonight, I'll post the answer.

Good luck!

#1 - Fill in the blank - During the primaries, Mike Huckabee said, "Folks, I didn't major in math. I majored in ______."  

#2 - In what place did Guiliani place in the Florida primary?

#3 - What is Lady Bird Johnson's first name? Bonus: What is her middle name?

#4 - This former Speaker of the House (and Texan) once described the office of the Vice President as being "not worth a bucket of warm piss". Who is he?

#5 - Name at least one of Mitt Romney's sons.

#6 - Who is the earliest President to still have a living grandchild?
 

This is what counts for right wing radio that's syndicated in Colorado?

Kids with autism are faking it?

On his nationally syndicated radio show, Michael Savage claimed that autism is "[a] fraud, a racket. ... I'll tell you what autism is. In 99 percent of the cases, it's a brat who hasn't been told to cut the act out. That's what autism is. What do you mean they scream and they're silent? They don't have a father around to tell them, 'Don't act like a moron. You'll get nowhere in life. Stop acting like a putz. Straighten up. Act like a man. Don't sit there crying and screaming, idiot.' "

Michael (Weiner) Savage said that, but last night Bill O'Reilly again called "the kos" uh, it's DailyKos, (or the great orange satan, thank you very much) as a site that's like the Nazis or the Klan as if a repeat of his show the day after yearlykos last year.  I fully expect Gunny Bob's show to tonight be a repeat too, parroting O'falafel.
So, if you also want to hold Savage accountable for his ignorant, cruel comments and let the major Colorado stations that use our public airwaves to carry the program that this dialogue is not only irresponsible, it's unacceptable, please contact the program directors at these., listed below.

KVOR
Dan Mandis
Program Director
719-593-2706
dan.mandis@citcomm.com

KNUS
Kelly Michaels
Program Director
303-750-5687

KFKA
Clint Skutchan
Program Director
970 356-1310
clint@1310kfka.com

KNZZ
Jim TerLouw, General Manager
97) 254-2100
JimT@gjradio.com

From today's Rocky:

Douglas Bruce's Web site featured an impressive list of endorsements for his legislative primary race, including U.S. Sen. Wayne Allard, Secretary of State Mike Coffman and Republican National Committeeman Mark Hillman.

There was just one problem: None of them actually had given the Colorado Springs Republican representative their backing for the contest.

...

When asked about the wording, Bruce said it had been changed by an overzealous webmaster and that he had no intention to deceive. Within 10 minutes, the heading over the list of endorsers read: "Elected officials and others who have supported or praised Douglas Bruce during his years of his public service."

I wonder if Doug Bruce has a "time horizon" for getting rid of the guy.

Someone's past support in another race, in another time, in another context doesn't mean much.  Just ask former White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan about the accolades he received from President Bush the day he retired.  You think they'll be sitting in a rocker on a porch  discussing days gone by anytime soon?

At a press conference this morning, Jim Gibson (the guy who questioned McCain at a recent "townhall" meeting in Denver), the Colorado Veterans Alliance, and Hal Bidlack spoke out against John McCain's horrible record of saying one thing and doing another when it comes to supporting veterans.  The press conference included a litany of grievances including John McCain not even bothering to show up for the senate vote on the modernized GI Bill.  That and many other reasons were given why these vets in Colorado are also behind Barack Obama.  
I asked about charges against McCain for revealing details of Obama's travels in Iraq.  The response was that while it was clear that McCain broke the law, they don't expect charges will be brought.  After all, this justice department doesn't exactly do their job.

I also learned about the bills CVA is working to try to get legislators to push in the next session on a number of benefit related issues.  One that sounded very promising at the federal level is fast tracking provisional paperwork for vets can begin to get treatment as needed at the VA before waiting the months and months it usually takes to get final discharge papers.

Later, I got to sit down with Bidlack and his campaign manager to discuss how SquareState should be covering the CO-05 race.  I'm impressed by the guy's resume, and he seems very easy to talk to.  

So, if you want to help kick Doug Lamborn out of his do-nothing job, you would be hard pressed to find a better man for the job than Hal Bidlack.  His site is taking contributions too.

From the Gazette:

State Rep. Douglas Bruce was cleared of a sexual harassment complaint from a woman working at the state capitol earlier this year.

...

Bruce received a letter on Friday from Speaker of the House Andrew Romanoff dismissing the complaint, which came in the closing days of the legislative session.

But it seems the Gods would prefer Bruce's name to remain in the media.

Again, from the Gazette:

...(Colorado Springs) has declared the fourplex owned by Douglas Bruce a dilapidated building.

The city will start billing Bruce, a former El Paso County commissioner who was appointed to a state House seat last year, $500 per quarter for inspection fees. It's the latest in a string of city actions against Bruce's ill-kept properties.

If it ain't on thing, it's another...

What's that's horrible sound piercing my consciousness? Oh, that's the alarm.  Ouch, damn you mondays.

What's going on in your world?  I have a ton of photos to edit.  Shot almost 2GB.  There are a very few good ones in there.  The Pelosi, Gore, Gina Cooper laughing photo was requested to get printed in at least 8x10 and ask Pelosi and Gore to sign it.  It was a great moment captured on film, okay, flash memory.  So many ideas were generated this weekend, that I hope we can attempt just some of them.

The first is a SquareState Progressive Platform Caucus that SquareState will set up to do live in person in Denver, but also online through the site so anyone with a computer in Colorado can attend and share in the conversations.  We have a tentative date of Sunday August 3rd.  This is based off the Obama campaign's Platform meetings, so we'll be asking local Obama volunteers to join us in these conversations on health care, education, water, energy, the environment, economy, immigration, etc.  If you'd like to lead one of these discussions on one of the listed or another topic that day, let me know in the comments or by email (click my blogname).  More info on all of this coming soon.

And who could've guessed?

"I never thought I would hear myself saying this," Dobson said in a radio broadcast to air Monday. "... While I am not endorsing Senator John McCain, the possibility is there that I might."

A flip-flopping endorsement of the greatest flip-flopper in presidential campaign history. 

Hal wants to talk with the 3 pro-war Republican candidates vying for Lamborn's soon-to-be-ex-seat:

More from PoliticsWest:
Hal Bidlack, running as a Democrat for Congress from a Colorado Republican bastion (the fifth congressional district, including Colorado Springs) was one of about two dozen candidates greeted tonight by several hundred partisan activists at a candidate celebration at the Netroots Nation convention in Austin, Texas.

Afterward, Bidlack (a retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Col.) told PoliticsWest how he previously e-mailed his three GOP rivals - who are locked in a tough primary fight - to suggest getting together for breakfast as a precursor to setting a civil tone for the general election campaign, and possible debates.

"Call it pancakes for peace, or French toast for friendship," said Bidlack of the breakfast idea. Watch the video below to hear the response he got from incumbent GOP Rep. Doug Lamborn.

Will the state of the economy, the war, the environment, and our awesome presidential candidate bring out the votes for Hal in the 5th? Stay tuned.

Suprise!

In what was the worst kept secret around here during last night's Dailykos, Living Liberally party, Al Gore paid a surprise visit to Netroots Nation this morning.  

He came to announce his plan for 100% renewable electricity in this country in 10 years.  It sounds like a difficult to achieve goal, but one poignant reality he mentioned was that while the republicans claim that oil prices go up because of increasing demands, the cost of photovoltaic cells, wind power, solar plants is going down rapidly with increasing demand.  We can do this, and can do it while also creating a stronger economy with this investment.  Of course this isn't in the interest of the oil companies, Dick Cheney and Bob Schaffer.  

Here, we're all having a good laugh in reference to Al Gore's work to get the internets started.

As our bloggy hosts are likely quite hung over in Austin and we haven't had an open thread in a while, I declare this to be one!

(elevated from the comments at Johne's request)

I was thrown right into the thick of it on day one. I was still wearing a temporary pass courtesy of a transfered credential from Democrats Work. I was going to lurk in the very well attended "State Blog Caucus" meeting, when it became clear that there was nobody to act as facilitator.

John Edward's internet rock star Tracy Russo shouted a nomination that I chair the thing, and I countered with a nomination for MoveOn.org's Adam Green. Adam shouted a second for Tracy's bad plan, and so I was stuck.

Lucky for me, making it work didn't require someone who had any sense or perspective. It just needed a Stateblog groupie, and I am one of that emerging breed.

I know and admire the work that Goldy has been doing in Washington including his incredible rapid response that allowed us to help Darcy Burner after her house fire.

I read Michigan Liberal. I know the editor of the Florida Progressive Coalition Blog when I see him in a hallway. I have a top ten list of trivia at my fingertips about Ali Savino (pictured here because you would rather look at her than me or Adam Green.)

It was a fantastic and selfish new version of liveblogging. I had my favorite state level bloggers in one place and I could click on them, hear their stories and then tap on the raised-hand-hyperlinks to hear the comments of a room full of experts.

We spoke about the interface between the state blogs and the national, the blogs and the other media, and the blogs and the party.
There were two things I really took away from the meeting. One was the idea that when we link to a national blog, we send them a 'customer' that is going to stick around and talk about those national issues. When a national blog links to us, we get a big spike in traffic, but it doesn't stick. They came for a particular story or picture, not because they have a general interest in Colorado politics. The State blogs recruit for the national. Therefor it is ultimately in their own interest for the national blogs to find ways to support our projects.

The second was an interesting funding model that is helping the sustainability of a blog on the West Coast. The blog was started in the offices of a social justice organization that brought suit against abusers and rolled the proceeds back into widening their operations. One of the logjams they faced was push-back from a biased and oppositional newspaper. They needed someone out there to debunk the disinformation of the newspaper, so they understood the value in looking to the internet.

Blogs keeping the media accountable is nothing new, but I was encouraged that an organization that wanted to advance the conversation in a specific way, could see the value in supporting the more general efforts of the progressive netroots.

A state blog will never be sustained on the tiny amount of money that comes in from blog ads, and really a tangent and a drain from the real work of the blog. If a group wants to sell something to the audience, then great, we should use that, but what would be really powerful if organizations were more aware that hanging something off the side of the community is not where the real value is for them. Having the community there should be the goal for them. They should not worry about a single day's content or message. Cultivate the community, and you win.

I found a way to make a living and blog, but it would be insane to make everyone who wanted a voice to have to live the way I have online and offline to make it possible. What we need to build self-sustaining communities, so that everyone can bring what time and effort they can to them without re-arranging their entire lives to do it.

The Party has an interest in seeing that work. The national blogs have an interest in making that work. Progressive organizations have an interest in making that work. Colorado is leading the nation in supporting valid new journalism like Coloardo Independent, and watch dogs on the old media like Media Matters Colorado. I would love to see Colorado lead the way in supporting the presence and sustainability of state level blog communities. The option might be to see these greenhouses of the grassroots shut down.

Reading over the Rocky's write up of how CD-6 Republicans are dealing with Iraq, I was struck by this paraphrase of Mike Coffman:

Another blunder was the disbanding of the Iraqi army, leaving soldiers with no way to feed their families, Coffman said. Many joined the insurgents.

In the future, the United States should not involve the military in nation building, Coffman said. Instead, the U.S. should bolster indigenous forces that oppose dictatorial regimes.

The US forays in to using indigenous forces to oppose dictatorial regimes include:

- Installing the Shah of Iran in the 50s, which eventually lead to the Iranian Revolution and empowering of radical Islam through out the Middle East.
- The Iran/Contra Affair of the late 80s was another operation like this, which lead to CIA illegally selling weapons and narcotics to fund these indigenous forces
- And how can we forget Afghanistan, where US support for the "indigenous forces" against an invading USSR lead to the empowering of the Mujahideen, the rise of the Taliban, which then sheltered Osama bin Laden while he prepared then executed the attacks on 9-11.

Coffman's service in Iraq may give him a unique perspective on the occupation, but it obviously took away time he should have been spent reading some history books.