Colorado

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How Republicans Treat an Independent Thinker: Nikkel Bullied Mercilessly

An interesting FOX31 story details a bullying campaign targeting BJ Nikkel before and after her courageous vote to move Senate Bill 2 forward. After she cast her vote in favor of civil unions two weeks ago, Nikkel was shouted down by religious protestors at her church in Loveland the following Sunday; and the next week, as the bill continued to move through the legislative process, a rickety ...
Colorado Pols - Sat 12:48 p.m. - 10 clicks 10 clicks

At Least She's Not Your State Supreme Court Justice (And Family!)

From the Pittsbugh Post-Gazette State Supreme Court Justice Joan Orie Melvin surrendered to authorities this afternoon to face nine criminal counts pertaining to her alleged use of state resources for campaign purposes. [...] Justice Melvin was identified as a target of the grand jury in December. The charges include three counts of theft of services, two counts of criminal conspiracy to commi...
Colorado Pols - Sat 9:25 a.m. - 6 clicks 6 clicks

Report Grand Junction Police Department Case # 1012-00022184

I paid $1.25 to obtain a copy of the actual police report. Apologies to Jennifer Bailey. Nobody phoned the police. Someone physically walked into the police department to report an incident. The case status is inactive. After reading the actual police report, I stand by my original comment: The GOP needs anger management therapy. Names have been redacted from the report, but this is the text: ...
Colorado Pols - Fri 3:44 p.m. - 14 clicks 14 clicks

Coffman's Greatest Asset Now Damaged Goods?

A press release today from the Colorado Democratic Party highlights the significant and quite possibly lasting trouble Rep. Mike Coffman created for himself with his recent recorded statement that President Barack Obama is "not an American." Following troubling reports that Congressman Mike Coffman echoed the wild accusations of the birther movement and attacked President Obama's basic ...
Colorado Pols - Fri 1:44 p.m. - 16 clicks 16 clicks

Do KLZ radio hosts know the difference between informing people and killing them?

I spend a lot of time criticizing conservative talk-radio hosts, and some people think I'm beating my head against the keyboard. Too bad for me. Here I go again. I can't accept that KLZ host's Ken Clark and Jason Worley agree with Sen. Ted Harvey when he says, on the radio, that Rep. Morgan Carroll's bill requiring hospitals to post a list of services that they do not provide is like "puttin...
Colorado Pols - Fri 1:30 p.m. - 13 clicks 13 clicks

Lamborn Loves Him Some Allen West

Proudly proclaimed on Rep. Doug Lamborn's campaign website yesterday: Today, Congressman Doug Lamborn received the endorsement of Congressman Allen West (FL-22) in his bid for re-election in Colorado's 5th Congressional District. "I strongly endorse and support Doug Lamborn for re-election to Congress. Doug Lamborn is a tireless advocate for our men and women in uniform, and for those wh...
Colorado Pols - Fri 12:23 p.m. - 13 clicks 13 clicks

Do KLZ radio hosts know the difference between protecting consumers and killing them?

I spend a lot of time criticizing conservative talk-radio hosts, and some people think I'm beating my head against the keyboard. Too bad for me. Here I go again. I can't accept that KLZ host's Ken Clark and Jason Worley agree with Sen. Ted Harvey when he says, on the radio, that Rep. Morgan Carroll's bill requiring hospitals to post a list of services that they do not provide is like "puttin...
SquareState - Fri 11:07 a.m. - 13 clicks 13 clicks

Post's Hubbard: More Arrogance from Mike Coffman

I met the guy personally and will attest to his arrogance. Curtis Hubbard reiterates the same at the Post with a minor scold to Dog-Whistling Congressman Mike Coffman : The Aurora Republican, who has served in the Army and the Marines, marched into Elbert County Saturday (which isn't even in his new district), opened his mouth to discuss defense spending, and promptly stuck a combat boot in ...
SquareState - Thu 8:02 p.m. - 12 clicks 12 clicks

Colo. Congressman "Scooby" Clueless Coffman: Crazy Birther under fire

Two-term Republican Congressman Mike Coffman (Colorado District 6) is drawing a lot of heat today with a Denver Post article about his downright crazy birther rant at a fundraiser. http://www.denverpost.com/... At a fundraiser in Elbert County earlier this month, Coffman was recorded by a supporter as he spoke about Obama's American citizenship. "I don't know whether Barack Obama was born...
DailyKos (Colorado) - Thu 4:42 p.m. - 15 clicks 15 clicks

New Ad Thumps Tipton in Pueblo

From the Clean Water Fund's (related to better-known Clean Water Action ) release yesterday: Clean Water Fund, a Colorado citizen group, launched a $100,000 TV buy in Pueblo that highlights Congressman Scott Tipton's support for tax breaks and subsidies for Big Oil companies.  Rep. Tipton has supported tax breaks for Big Oil companies 6 times (see chart), subsidizing their $137 bil...
Colorado Pols - Thu 7:50 a.m. - 13 clicks 13 clicks

Colo. Rep.: Obama at heart "Not an American"

This last Saturday Colorado Republican Congressman Mike Coffman asserted at an Elbert County fundraiser that President Barack Obama is not truly American, as reported by a Denver Post article . More below ...
DailyKos (Colorado) - Thu 7:30 a.m. - 13 clicks 13 clicks

Special Session of Colorado General Assembly Ends

The 2012 special session of the Colorado General Assembly ended today after passing bills on three of the subjects it was convened to consider.  Bills on the other items before the state legislature, including civil unions, were killed. [T]he civil unions proposal failed in a Republican House committee, and many of the additional bills Hickenlooper asked lawmakers to consider pe...
Wash Park Prophet - Wed 3:49 p.m. - 11 clicks 11 clicks

Gay son of Colorado Republican who killed civil unions bill speaks out

This is just sad. As you may remember from a couple days ago, the Colorado House State, Veterans, and Military Affairs Committee killed a bill that would legalize civil unions. It had already been approved by the Senate and, if passed in the House, would have been signed into law by Governor John Hickenlooper. The move would have signified a shift for gay and lesbian Coloradans from third-cl...
DailyKos (Colorado) - Wed 1:51 p.m. - 14 clicks 14 clicks

Second Sine Die

Gov. John Hickenlooper's full statement on the end of today's special session. DENVER ­- Wednesday, May 16, 2012 - Gov. John Hickenlooper today thanked the General Assembly for using the special session to successfully address unfinished business that died last week without debate or consideration by the House of Representatives. Lawmakers this week passed a water projects bill that will create...
Colorado Pols - Wed 1:51 p.m. - 16 clicks 16 clicks

Director of Colorado Energy Office Resigns

If you've ever fancied yourself as a member of Gov. John Hickenlooper's cabinet and you know a thing or two about energy, you might be in luck. The Governor's office announced today that Tanuj "TJ" Deora has resigned as Director of the Colorado Energy Office in order to accept a position in the private sector with IHS in Englewood. Full press release after the jump. Gov. Hickenlooper annou...
Colorado Pols - Wed 12:46 p.m. - 15 clicks 15 clicks

It Bains Before it Pours

POLS NOTE : Yeah, we know the title is cheesy, but would you rather see another "Bain of His Existence" pun? Presumptive Republican Presidential nominee Mitt Romney has been taking some hard shots (again) from his time as CEO at Bain Capital, and information is now leaking out about how Colorado was negatively impacted by Bain's business model. You might recall that prominent Republicans we...
Colorado Pols - Wed 11:04 a.m. - 15 clicks 15 clicks

Fisticuffs at Mesa County Republican Meeting

I've been reading about fights breaking out at GOP conventions and thinking that the GOP needs to sign up for anger management therapy. Most of the fighting seems to be between Ron Paul supporters and Mitt Romney supporters. According to the Daily Paul website, "In Oklahoma, in a scene that has been called "contention at the convention", a Romney supporter (believed to be almost 80-years-old) pun...
Colorado Pols - Wed 9:52 a.m. - 16 clicks 16 clicks

The Sad Story of Don and Dee Coram

UPDATE: FOX 31's Eli Stokols : Rep. Don Coram, who cast the deciding vote Monday to kill the revived civil unions bill during this week's special legislative session, told FOX 31 Denver Wednesday that he stands behind his vote, despite criticism from his gay son... "If you're going to lead, you need to sometimes set aside your personal preferences and do what you were sent here to do," Cor...
Colorado Pols - Wed 8:07 a.m. - 13 clicks 13 clicks

Are Colorado Springs Citizens Being Gagged On Fracking Issue?

Our colleague Lotus has initiated some fruitful correspondence on the subject of the still-impending fracking of the Pikes Peak region. In light of the City’s abrupt cancellation of the May 17 public hearing, we’ll present excerpts of his emails and telephone notes here. Are Colorado Springs Citizens Being Gagged On Fracking Issue? The fracking hearing [...]...
Not My Tribe - Wed 1:27 a.m. - 17 clicks 17 clicks

Denver Public Schools Cheating

This is a quick diary. I had to write about this because it is absolutely a case of predictability given the circumstances.  Two Denver Public Schools are being investigated for cheating on state standardized tests. Tying teacher pay to student outcomes makes this a scenario predictable and likely to occur again and again. http://www.ednewscolorado.org/... ...
DailyKos (Colorado) - Tue 4:51 p.m. - 17 clicks 17 clicks

Denver City Council To Criminalize Homelessness

The Denver City Council supported a measure, called a "camping ban," a euphemism for the criminalization of the fact that someone is homeless and living on the streets (i.e. a vagrant) by a 9-4 margin in a preliminary vote a couple of weeks ago. I am deeply disgusted (but not tremendously surprised) to learn today (the efforts of the Denver Post to prominently make clear who is and isn't suppor...
Wash Park Prophet - Mon 7:06 p.m. - 18 clicks 18 clicks

The Colorado Fight for Civil Unions

No one could describe the events of the last several days better than Jace Woodrum, Deputy Excecutive Director of One Colorado: http://www.one-colorado.org/... ...
DailyKos (Colorado) - Mon 3:28 p.m. - 17 clicks 17 clicks

More than 230,000 lose unemployment benefits in eight states due to cuts

More than 230,000 people stopped being eligible for unemployment insurance benefits over the weekend—not because they got jobs, but because the emergency extended benefits program providing their benefits was cut as part of the payroll tax deal earlier this year. The number of weeks of benefits available in states drop as unemployment drops, which hit California, Colorado, Connecticut, Flo...
DailyKos (Colorado) - Mon 1:29 p.m. - 20 clicks 20 clicks

Romney misrepresents his interview with Denver TV reporter

CBS4's Shaun Boyd should let her viewers know that Mitt Romney is misrepresenting an interview Boyd had with Romney when he was in Denver May 10. In an interview last week , a radio host asked Romney: "I saw that you got a little testy with one reporter who wanted to talk about marijuana and same-sex marriage yesterday. Has this been a real curve ball for ya?" Romney replied: "She asked ...
SquareState - Mon 10:29 a.m. - 14 clicks 14 clicks

Encore

The Colorado General Assembly is back for its first day of the 2012 special session called by Governor Hickenlooper after the Republican state house majority went into recess for the last few hours of May 8, 2012 (the last day before the end of the regular session and deadline for passage of bills on second reading), in order to kill a civil unions bill that had cleared three committees and had th...
Wash Park Prophet - Mon 9:50 a.m. - 20 clicks 20 clicks

UPDATE: They're going to Frack in Your back yard, folks

There will be miniscule rights payments to the state or other owner, the profits will most likely be going out of state, but the effects will be right here in our very own back yard: Who you gonna trust - Governor John Hickenlooper or your lyin' eyes ? In Hickenlooper's home state, there has been tension over how much local communities can regulate drilling within their borders...
SquareState - May 12 - 10 clicks 10 clicks

U.S. Navy To Get Anti-Small Boat Laser Guns

The details are available at the Defense Tech blog.   The laser melts down or ignites fuel in the opposing boat's engines.  Unlike Star Wars, however, the laser beam has to stay on target quite a while to do the job. Copyright Andrew Oh-Willeke (2012) ...
Wash Park Prophet - May 10 - 5 clicks 5 clicks

Colorado worse than NC? HOW'D WE MISS THIS?

There was a diary published this morning by BCO Gal that got 6 comments and 10 recs -- now 11, including mine.  I think that when you read it, you'll understand why the fact that this hasn't gotten greater coverage, unless I somehow missed it, is amazing.  So, yes, this is one of those " go read that puppy and rec it if you like it " diaries -- and I think that you will like it. (B...
DailyKos (Colorado) - May 9 - 3 clicks 3 clicks

Hickenlooper Steps Up, Declares Special Session

BREAKING, per Lynn Bartels of the Denver Post via twitter: Governor Hickenlooper to call for a special session; the agenda includes civil unions. What a difference 12 hours makes! Meanwhile, President Barack Obama just announced he now favors gay marriage. When it rains, it pours. From the Huffington Post . From Colorado's State Constitution, Article IV, Section 9 (thank you, David Hend...
SquareState - May 9 - 3 clicks 3 clicks

Breaking: CO Governor Declares Special Session for Civil Unions

BREAKING, per Lynn Bartels of the Denver Post via twitter: Governor Hickenlooper to call for a special session; the agenda includes civil unions. What a difference 12 hours makes! Meanwhile, President Barack Obama just announced he now favors gay marriage. When it rains, it pours. From the Huffington Post . From Colorado's State Constitution, Article IV, Section 9 (thank you, David Hender...
DailyKos (Colorado) - May 9

Romney says he flip flopped only once!

Mitt Romney promised to sit down with real-life reporters (yes, they're still out there) during his visit today to Colorado, according to a report yesterday by Fox 31 political correspondent Eli Stokols . Stokols, you recall, called Romney out for NOT meeting with real-life Denver reporters last time Romney came to Colorado, preferring the cozy confines of conservative talk radio . So you hav...
SquareState - May 9 - 5 clicks 5 clicks

Colorado House Rs let 30 bills die rather than vote on civil unions

On Election Day, 1992 I was in downtown Denver, celebrating the fact that Bill Clinton had just been elected President. I remember the joy I felt as I left that ballroom, feeling satisfaction that the hard-fought race had been won. When I left the hotel I noticed an angry group gathered outside the hotel. They were angry that Amendment 2 had passed, which prohibited government protection of LG...
DailyKos (Colorado) - May 9 - 4 clicks 4 clicks

GOP House Leadership Kills Colo Civil Unions Bill

Republican leaders in Colorado's State House have killed SB2, the Civil Unions bill in Colorado's General Assembly, as well as thirty other bills including a bill funding $20 million in water projects, by calling a recess of the state house two hours before the midnight deadline for passage of the bill that was coming up for a debate on the House floor where it had the support of 37 of t...
Wash Park Prophet - May 8 - 3 clicks 3 clicks

Colorado's Republican legislature about to pass a civil unions bill

Good news on an otherwise bleak day.  In a quick and under-the-radar way, Colorado's Republican led legislature has just one step left to make Colorado the 11th state to have civil unions/same sex marriage in the law, and that is to take it to a vote.  Three different Republican legislators crossed the aisle to keep the bill from dying in committee.  The final hurdle is to get the...
DailyKos (Colorado) - May 8 - 3 clicks 3 clicks

Neutered SB 163 Clears House Committee

SB 163, which would initially have reduced the penalties for a number of drug crimes in Colorado that are now minor felonies to misdemeanor status and downgraded moderately serious felony drug crimes to minor felony sentence, passed in the House Judiciary Committee yesterday without amendment from the Senate version, clearing its path to the House floor for consideration on the merits in a sec...
Wash Park Prophet - May 8 - 3 clicks 3 clicks

Third Wave of Threatening Letters on the Way

Colorado Law regulates our medical marijuana industry. Forty-eight businesses that were legal under Colorado's Medical Marijuana Law, were taxed under Colorado Medical Marijuana Law, and paid more $400,000 in licensing fees as they were winding their way through Colorado's regulatory schema were bullied into closing by US Attorney Walsh. Now, more threatening letters are on the way and US At...
DailyKos (Colorado) - May 8 - 4 clicks 4 clicks

SB 2 (Civil Unions) Still In Play UPDATED

After an editorial from the Denver Post yesterday , urging Governor Hickenlooper to call a special session on civil unions (essentially same sex marriage in all but name), if the House doesn't finish considering Senate Bill 2 (SB2) , the Civil Unions bill in Colorado, by the end of the legislative session tomorrow, the state house is moving forward to consider the bill. The House Appropriatio...
Wash Park Prophet - May 8 - 3 clicks 3 clicks

Note to Colorado's wonderful U.S. Senators

The temptation to accept the slowly crumbling conventional wisdom regarding "austerity" in DC must be enormous for our rookie senators. (I emphasize rookie and give no credit to Bennet's jury-rigged first session.) The citizens of Greece and France have had their say in recent elections by rejecting the all pain, no gain plans designed by the same geniuses that created the conditions of ...
SquareState - May 7 - 3 clicks 3 clicks

Civil Unions Coming to Colorado

I didn't see this issue diaried anywhere, so I thought I would give you some information from the wild west. It is now clear that civil unions will be the law in Colorado next week!!  Considering this state passed an anti-gay marriage Constitutional Amendment several years ago by a wide margin. But Colorado's exterme libertarian bent is showing up again. And the most amazing thing, th...
DailyKos (Colorado) - May 5

Brief update - doing well, thanks to you guys

Just want to keep you guys updated as I progress. Got packed, moved out...well, moved into my car =) Have different couches to sleep on for a few days while I say my goodbyes in L.A. and head to Boulder Monday. In case you know of anyone whose couch I could crash on in Vegas on Monday night, or Grand Junction, CO on Tuesday night, those are my planned stopping points for this 1,000 journey...
DailyKos (Colorado) - May 3 - 3 clicks 3 clicks

A Call To Arms: With Underwear

Dear Women of Colorado (And The Men Who Love Them), While you've been busy raising your children, going to work, and caring for everyone around you, Tea Party crazies have been trying to take away women's rights and plunge us back into a previous century. In 2010, Tea Party extremists gained power in Washington DC, and in many parts of this country. They've presented more than 1100 separate...
DailyKos (Colorado) - May 1 - 3 clicks 3 clicks

Colorado ROCKS it!! March Against the War on Women (Photo Diary) UPDATED with flash mob vid

On April 28th, on a beautiful day at 10:00am, people gathered from the four corners of Colorado to protest against the War on Women.  It was a grassroots led campaign that was the idea of a woman in Michigan. This is the uproar from women angry at the policies and legislation being proposed all over the United States. Colorado is the home of Focus on the Family. The first personhood amend...
DailyKos (Colorado) - Apr 30 - 2 clicks 2 clicks

Thousands Rally in Denver for Access to Women's Health Care

Thousands of Colorado men and women participated in "We Are Women" events on Saturday, which included a Rally, a March/Parade, pre- and post-event concerts, and a flashmob at the Colorado State Capitol. Denver's main newspaper had nothing to say about it. Meanwhile, Denver's Channel 9 News did mention the women's events briefly while also making time for another important breaking story, "Stu...
DailyKos (Colorado) - Apr 29 - 3 clicks 3 clicks

Nurse Kelley Sez: My medical marijuana magical mystery tour (w/ update)

If you live in one of the sixteen states (and D.C.) that have legalized the use of medical marijuana, or if you live in one of the twelve states where similar legislation is pending, you may be wondering how such laws work. My state (Colorado) came to legalize medical marijuana by way of a ballot amendment approved by 54% of the voters on November 7, 2000, and the new law went into effect on...
DailyKos (Colorado) - Apr 28 - 2 clicks 2 clicks

More on Tollway: Power Grab Update

The power grab is dead ... at least for now. The proposed legislation drafted by the 'we know best' Jefferson County Commissioners to create a 'Beltway Completion Authority' won't be introduced in this session of the Colorado legislature after all.......
Dave Chandler - Apr 27 - 3 clicks 3 clicks

Pro-Obama groups launch $1 million ad buy tying Mitt Romney to big oil

The pro-Obama Super PAC Priorities USA Action and the League of Conservation Voters Victory Fund have spent $1 million in a television and online ad buy in two states—Colorado and Nevada—to air this ad focusing on Mitt Romeny's ties to big oil. "Big oil's fingerprints are all over him," the ad says, pointing to reports that conservative groups - including Americans for Prosperity, back...
DailyKos (Colorado) - Apr 25 - 3 clicks 3 clicks