Quick Hits: Colorado News

Oil corporations bought conditional senior water rights to 7.2 million acre-feet of water earlier this week.  Why?  So they can potentially use the water in the future to drill for oil in shale in Western Colorado.  Some things come to mind: diverting water from the Front Range to drill for oil in shale won’t go over well if it ever happens; diverting water from downriver states won’t go over well either (read: tons of litigation); oil shale development won’t be viable for decades – by that time, I don’t think we’ll need the oil.

A foundational health care bill passed out of a Colorado House committee Wednesday.  Somehow, the Cons think double-digit insurance rate increases year after year should be totally loved by everybody.  The reality is far from that.  People are justifiably upset with for-profit insurance that doesn’t deliver care.  The bill still has to pass the House Appropriations Committee before going to the full House.

Colorado’s newest Senators might be deciding to go the pro-corporatist, non-progressive route in Congress.  Sens. Udall and Bennet have joined a gang in Washington (just like the Senator Bennet replaced, Ken Salazar) that tries to sell itself as ‘centrist’.  I’m going to be very clear about this: the difference between most Senate Democrats and the Senate Cons isn’t a lovely place called centrism.  If they want to join the Cons in their assault on the American worker and our economy, they’re free to do so.  Colorado voters are similarly free to examine their efforts and decide if Udall and Bennet are who they want in the Senate.  Joining a gang isn’t the worst thing that can happen.  But if Udall or Bennet decide to vote like Salazar did – if they develop a clear pattern of voting against Colorado citizens’ best interests, I won’t hesitate to call them on it or work to get somebody else elected in the next election.  I was reasonably sure Udall would do this – it remains to be seen how he votes.

Yesterday’s paper version of the Denver Post had a full-page, color ad that lied to readers.  It claimed new energy taxes were going to be passed soon by Congress.  They provided a website that is full of pro-industy spin and very short on facts.  The fossil fuel industry has enjoyed years’ worth of tax loopholes – they’ve cheated the U.S. out of billions of tax dollars.  Now that real public anger has bubbled to the surface over fuel costs; now that the public is demanding fossil fuel corporations finally pay their fair share; after years of not developing refining infrastructure but buying up 60 million acres of land that isn’t being drilled, how does the industry respond?  With full page ads and websites, part of a multi-million dollar marketing campaign.  Remember that when fuel prices shoot back up this summer.  And remember this too: fuel corporations were making tens of billions of dollars of profit every three months last year while telling everyone that they couldn’t produce anymore product.  The fact is, they refuse to produce more.  They’ve refused to do it for a long, long time.  Americans are ready to move to a post-fossil fuel era.  And that scares the hell out of the industry.

In The News 10/15/08

The last Presidential debate of the 2008 cycle is tonight.  I expect John McCain to come out aggressively – he’s losing the race quite handily right now and so has nothing to lose.  Opponents are dangerous when they have nothing to lose.  Barack Obama will do fine in the debate as long as he continues to project his presidential demeanor to America.  That’s a big reason he won the first two.  I don’t think he’ll get run off of his successful approach.  Folks who are looking for excitement or passion will likely be disappointed tonight.  One thing I’m looking for is how this debate is moderated.  Will Obama and McCain be allowed to engage each other to any degree?

John McCain is up to 133 lies.  Heroes don’t lie.

Want a decent return on your investments?  Elect Democrats.  Seriously.  If you had invested $10,000 under Democratic presidents only since 1929 (Ds & Rs have held the post for 40 years each since 1929), your investment would have grown to $300,671.  If you had invested $10,000 under Republican presidents only since 1929, your investment would have grown to only $11,733.  That’s pretty sad.  Okay, so Herbert Hoover was included in the Republicans and he screwed up the economy almost as bad as George Bush has.  So if Hoover is thrown out, your $10,000 investment would have grown to … $51,211.  That’s a crappy return for 36 years’ investment.  The average annualized return under Republican presidencies: 0.4% including Hoover, 4.7% not including Hoover.  The average annualized return under Democratic presidencies: 8.9%.  Don’t ever let a Republican get away with saying they’re better for capitalism.  It just isn’t true.

A new solar research facility will open in Aurora, Colorado.  SolarTAC, or Solar Technology Acceleration Center, is the second facility created by the Colorado Renewable Energy Collaboratory.  The Colorado Center for Biorefining and Biofuels opened July 1.  The U.S. needs to end its use of fossil fuels in the near term.  R&D is important – getting technologies into the market is just as important.

CO-04 Democratic candidate Betsy Markey was profiled by Council for a Livable World.

The economic downturn took drilling away as a CONservative weapon in this year’s election.  Just remember: they won’t let up next year.

Mark Udall issued a warning to the Bush administration over oil shale drilling.  Due to the incredible resources such drilling require, it’s obviously not viable in the short-term.  With a global recession and damped demand for fossil fuels, it’s not viable any time soon.

Retail sales plunged to the lowest level in three years as consumers cut way back in September.  The Federal Reserve noted that economic activity was depressed across the country.  The markets responded by shedding over 700 points again.  The thing to glean from all of this is the system has to work out the kinks.  Credit availability has been yanked.  Consumers have been forced to spend less because their incomes haven’t risen in real terms in decades.  They’re up to their eyeballs in credit card debt and their home equity has been tapped.  The solution to this crisis is rooted in making new jobs available to Americans and paying them better to do what they’re already doing.  Invest in the people and their infrastructure and the economy will be righted quite nicely.  It took a lot to get into this mess.  It’s going to take a lot to really get out of it.

Friday Goodies – 10/10/08

In a Sinking Economy.

I know this is going to come up again someday, so I’m going to get ahead of it.  Sarah Palin has said in the past she was responsible for bringing a pipeline to Alaska that would deliver natural gas to the lower 48.  The cowardly John McCain told his Faux Noise extremist buddy Sean Hannity the same thing.  The problem?  Both Sarah and John are lying.  Again.  No part of the pipeline has been built.  Federal approval is still years away and, just like the rest of the pro-drilling idiot crowd, no natural gas will make its way to the lower 48 for at least 10 years.  So here’s a major difference between Obama and McCain: in 10 years, Obama’s energy policies will put us well on the way toward making renewables our primary source of energy.  McCain and Palin will still be waiting for oil to be drilled off-shore, for natural gas to be sent from Alaska and for oil to be drilled out of oil shale.  Obama will have taken meaningful steps towards mitigating human forced climate change.  McCain and Palin will still be burning every fossil fuel they can.  Obama offers change, pure and simple.

More on the last point: whoever is elected in November has the opportunity to demonstrate the U.S.’s leadership on climate change to the world.  They can go to the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Poland in December.  They can commit to reducing GHG emissions.  They can commit to providing assitance to developing countries.  They can commit to a more prosperous 21st century.

I want to bring every reader’s attention to the comment by Marie, below.  For now, I have approved it so that I can point out the lack of facts in any of the points and clips.  I have also approved it to bring awareness of the larger message: when Republicans lose races across the country this year, they’re going to scream about Democrats stealing the election, with no factual basis.  It is obvious that this frame is being established now by CONServative leaders and all their extremist followers are following the tune, as usual.  Now, let’s get to some facts:

First, get the terminology correct.  ACORN can’t commit voter fraud.  Only voters can commit voter fraud.  You would still be incorrect about their intent if you called it registration fraud, but at least then it would be a credible criticism.

Second, Obama did give ACORN $800K – in the primaries.  He hasn’t given them anything since.  It’s incredible to me that CONServatives have the worldview that working hard to register people is somehow a bad thing.  Real people are being registered by ACORN and dozens of other entities.  You know why?  Democrats win when more people vote.  Republicans win when people are not allowed to vote.  That’s what this attack against ACORN is all about: preventing citizens from voting.  That’s disgusting and immoral.

Third, do you really think ACORN has that much power?  Seriously, CONServatives’ conspiracies would be laughable if they didn’t have so much control over the media.  How could ACORN possibly force any bank to give sub-prime mortgages to unqualified borrowers?  Banks were more than happy to do so – it kept their gambling habits stoked.  You only undermine your own credibility when such silly things are spread.

Fourth, Obama worked for ACORN a long time ago.  This is the same nonsense that McCain’s handlers want CONServatives to focus on: people that Obama had an association with that have nothing to do with his job today.  Is your point that Obama forced ACORN to force banks to give people with bad credit mansions?  Because that’s just ridiculous.  If it’s something else, just come out and say it.  And that’s what this boils down to: McCain and his CONservative supporters are all cowards.  They don’t have what it takes to just come out and say what they think about Obama.  They’re running around whispering rumors to each other and insinuating things about Obama.  Who happens to be a freaking sitting U.S. Senator.  If you really think he’s done all the bad things you’re insinuating, it should be easy to convince your DA or the DoJ that Obama should be jailed.  Otherwise, you’re all just a small fringe group.  Americans aren’t going to be scared by your b.s. this time around.  They’re seeing through your little acts and realize their lives are better when they’re working for the future and not piddling themselves underneath their beds.

Some additional ACORN facts: they’re required by law to turn in every completed application, even if they know it to be problematic.  ACORN flags incomplete or suspicious applications when they turn them in to county officials.  Election officials often ignore those flags when they’re turned in, causing themselves headaches down the road.  There has never been a single proven case of anyone, anywhere, casting an illegal vote as a result of a false registration.  Not surprisingly, none of the corporate media reports relayed any of this information.  Some investigation.  Stop the fear-mongering.  It’s pathetic.

Random Pieces 7/24/08

After years of producing vehicles that get better fuel economy for European customers than they did for American customers, Ford is finally going to retool American factories to produce and sell the same vehicles stateside. This comes as Ford struggles to reduce costs and just posted its worst quarter in its 105-year history. Ford lost $8.7 billion in its 2nd quarter.

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The paragon of personal responsibility, Rush Limbaugh, tried to take Sen. Ken Salazar to task over oil-shale drilling saying Salazar “and his fellow Democrats are still preventing America from using our own resources to lower gas prices and create new jobs”. No Rush, it’s been conservative blowhards like yourself that have prevented policies that would keep gas prices low. If renewable energy research had received any fraction of the corporate welfare dollars handed over to oil corporations in the past 30 years, US consumers would be demanding far less oil and gas. Oh, and more and better paying jobs would have been created along the line too.

Way to take responsibility for policies you’ve advocated for, Rush.

It’s interesting to note how conservatives are pushing for drilling when the technology to do so isn’t perfect yet. They’re taking the opposite stance with regard to global warming by saying we shouldn’t take action until technologies (models) are perfect. Drilling through shale and off our coasts will not reduce the price of gas. Part of the problem getting that message across exists within consumers: they want instant gratification and drilling sounds like it might deliver. So they’ll support it without thinking of the problems.

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