http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/category_rss/electoralreform A Censored Headline and why it Matters: German High Court Outlaws Electronic Voting Justices of the German Federal Constitutional Court.   Image Michael Collins ( DailyCensored.Com )  The justices above are clearly the most rational group of high level functionaries in the industrialized world.  They did what no other court would do in Europe or the United States.  They effectively outlawed electronic voting.  On March 3, 2009, the German Federal Constitutional Court declared that the electronic voting machines used in the 2005 Bundestag elections for the German national parliament were outside of the bounds of the German Constitution. http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/mcollins/CZn5 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/mcollins/CZn5/commentary#comments Tue, 20 Oct 2009 18:06:21 EDT http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/mcollins/CZn5 Michael Collins http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/0f4307568de17110c5_xdbmv2rzb.jpg Michael Collins 2 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CZn5/ "Don't look back, they may be gaining on you." :-)) denver and the west Romanoff's Senate campaign raises more than $200,000 By The Denver Post The campaign for U.S. Senate candidate-come-lately Andrew Romanoff said Tuesday that it had raised more than $200,000 in the 21 days he was eligible to collect donations in the third quarter. Romanoff needed a big start to show he's viable, though he will have to keep up the pace to compete with the fundraising juggernaut of Sen. Michael Bennet, who has taken in $2.5 million and counting since his appointment in January, analysts say. Romanoff fundraisers collected cash from more than 1,500 individuals, said spokeswoman Joelle Martinez, using that figure to bolster Romanoff's image as the race's grassroots candidate. Continued at the Denver Post http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZnx http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZnx/commentary#comments Wed, 07 Oct 2009 12:24:38 EDT http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZnx Mike Collins http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/bcdcfd97be4d93f8d2_izvrmv8p8.jpg Mike Collins 0 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CZnx/ I've been a little depressed lately, the Michael Moore movie seems to have intensified the despair. Much has been said to marginalize the so called "left wing" of the Democrat Party. In reality, the left wing is the "right" wing, meaning that it is the segment of the party that is mostly correct in it's philosophies and promotes academic, logical introspection and solutions. Most of all they are somewhat unselfishly devoted to truth, justice and the idea that America is duty-bound to strive for a more perfect union. That liberty and justice for all applies to our law and most certainly to economic equity. I am afraid that conservative/blue dog Democrat thought implies no room for improvement or reflection and a preference for a balance that is in their favor. The Right Wing of the Democrat Party seems the most "Christian" in its opinions and deeds. However, they are less likely to belong to an organized religion, they carry within them the only law that matters when dealing with most human, animal and earthly interaction. The Golden Rule is at once logical and effortless, what else could qualify as "self-evident" if not the Golden Rule. Where are we as a nation? From the Declaration of Independence comes a profound clue, an indication that we are in fact sheep, the status quo is undemanding of social responsibility or activism: "accordingly all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed." The Declaration of Independence "When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bonds which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed............................." In the words of Ann Richards in answer to, "What must Democrats do in order to win" she answered, "You (All of us) must find the courage to talk to the people you don't know and tell them things they may not want to hear." Michael Moore has that kind of courage. I wish I had asked Governor Richards if there was a cure for complacency. MC CONFORMITY We are discreet sheep; we wait to see how the drove is going, and then go with the drove. - Mark Twain's Autobiography Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to reform (or pause and reflect). Mark Twain- Notebook, 1904 Conformity-the natural instinct to passively yield to that vague something recognized as authority. Mark Twain- "Corn Pone Opinions" TREACHERY Gratitude and treachery are merely the two extremities of the same procession. You have seen all of it that is worth staying for when the band and the gaudy officials have gone by. Mark Twain- Pudd'nhead Wilson TRADITION ...scrap heap of unverifiable odds and ends which we call tradition. Mark Twain- Speech, 5/25/1908 JUSTICE The rain ...falls upon the just and the unjust alike; a thing which would not happen if I were superintending the rain's affairs. No, I would rain softly and sweetly on the just, but if I caught a sample of the unjust outdoors I would drown him. - Mark Twain, a Biography TRUTH Familiarity breeds contempt. How accurate that is. The reason we hold truth in such respect is because we have so little opportunity to get familiar with it. Mark Twain- Notebook, 1898 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZSY http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZSY/commentary#comments Sat, 03 Oct 2009 14:58:31 EDT http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZSY Mike Collins http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/bcdcfd97be4d93f8d2_izvrmv8p8.jpg Mike Collins 0 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CZSY/ I saw the movie tonight at a special showing at Chez Artiste. Mr. Moore has done it again, he has taken pure, unadulterated truth and made it an art form. Moore expressed a desire to be a priest in his early days, I think he became one for all intents and purposes. Bravo, Mr. Moore, you are a priest in every sense of the word. http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZSP http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZSP/commentary#comments Fri, 02 Oct 2009 01:08:48 EDT http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZSP Mike Collins http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/bcdcfd97be4d93f8d2_izvrmv8p8.jpg Mike Collins 0 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CZSP/ "I'm shocked, shocked to learn there's gambling going on in here!!" USAID was an insult at best. MC denver and the west D.C. job alleged as attempt to deter Romanoff By Michael Riley The Denver Post "WASHINGTON — Not long after news leaked last month that Andrew Romanoff was determined to make a Democratic primary run against Sen. Michael Bennet, Romanoff received an unexpected communication from one of the most powerful men in Washington. Jim Messina, President Barack Obama's deputy chief of staff and a storied fixer in the White House political shop, suggested a place for Romanoff might be found in the administration and offered specific suggestions, according to several sources who described the communication to The Denver Post. Romanoff turned down the overture, which included mention of a job at USAID, the foreign aid agency, sources said. Then, the day after Romanoff formally announced his Senate bid, Obama endorsed Bennet." Continued: http://www.denverpost.com/ci_13429758 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZS8 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZS8/commentary#comments Sun, 27 Sep 2009 16:15:13 EDT http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZS8 Mike Collins http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/bcdcfd97be4d93f8d2_izvrmv8p8.jpg Mike Collins 0 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CZS8/ This is bad for democracy because it gives ESS monopoly power for controlling elections in the US. The voting irregularities in past elections concerning equipment manufactured by ESS and Diebold should be ample warning that giving monopoly power to one electronic voting machines manufacturer should never be tolerated in a democracy. McClatchy News' Washington Bureau scoop of the day: " WASHINGTON — A federal judge in Camden, N.J., agreed late Friday to hear a request for an emergency injuction that could halt Election Systems & Software's announced acquisition of Diebold Inc.'s Premier Election Solutions. The quietly arranged shotgun wedding between the two voting-machine giants would give ES&S control of election systems in use in almost 70 percent of the nation's voting precincts. Federal Judge Robert Kugler agreed to hear Tuesday the request for immediate injunction brought by a small competitorm, Hart InterCivic Inc...." http://www.mcclatchydc.com/politics/story/76093.html http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/kennethdebacker/CZS2 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/kennethdebacker/CZS2/commentary#comments Sat, 26 Sep 2009 09:48:21 EDT http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/kennethdebacker/CZS2 Ken Ken 0 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CZS2/ "We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the hateful words and actions of the bad people but for the appalling silence of the good people" Martin Luther King, Jr. http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZSN http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZSN/commentary#comments Wed, 16 Sep 2009 20:59:05 EDT http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZSN Mike Collins http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/bcdcfd97be4d93f8d2_izvrmv8p8.jpg Mike Collins 0 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CZSN/ Sign me up, I'm a "Liberal" If your elected Democrat doesn't talk and think like this, you have a problem and perhaps you should encourage that "Centrist" to switch parties. I certainly wouldn't contribute my money or time to a person just because they use a "D" by their name. People who pretend to be liberal can get elected in Colorado, e.g. Ken Salazar, a liberal Hispanic, Bill Ritter, a liberal, law and order, Catholic kind of guy ("Law and Order" types scare me, they usually consider "prison building" a solution). Ben NightHorse Campbell, a liberal Native American. Liberals can get elected in Colorado, even if they are DINOs. MC "What do our opponents mean when they apply to us the label 'Liberal'? If by 'Liberal' they mean, as they want people to believe, someone who is soft in his policies abroad, who is against local government, and who is unconcerned with the taxpayer’s dollar, then the record of this party and its members demonstrate that we are not that kind of 'Liberal'. But if by a 'Liberal' they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people — their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, and their civil liberties — someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a 'Liberal', then I’m proud to say I’m a 'Liberal'." John F. Kennedy Wikipedia http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZSM http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZSM/commentary#comments Sat, 12 Sep 2009 14:04:19 EDT http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZSM Mike Collins http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/bcdcfd97be4d93f8d2_izvrmv8p8.jpg Mike Collins 0 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CZSM/ Wednesday morning at 10 a.m. at the Historic Arkansas Riverwalk of Pueblo. I plan to attend, can take three. mdavidcollins@gmail.com Romanoff will launch Senate race in Pueblo By PETER ROPER THE PUEBLO CHIEFTAIN September 12, 2009 01:40 am Former Colorado Speaker of the House Andrew Romanoff will kick off his campaign for the U.S. Senate in Pueblo next Wednesday morning, according to local Democrats supporting his challenge to Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo. Romanoff filed campaign paperwork with the Senate on Thursday, a move Democrats have been expecting for some weeks. What may be indicative of his challenge to the incumbent Bennet is that Romanoff is choosing to launch his primary challenge from Pueblo next Wednesday morning at 10 a.m. at the Historic Arkansas Riverwalk of Pueblo. More at the Pueblo Chieftain: http://www.chieftain.com/articles/2009/09/12/news/local/doc4aab4c7f04a30901409903.txt http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZSG http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZSG/commentary#comments Sat, 12 Sep 2009 13:16:55 EDT http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZSG Mike Collins http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/bcdcfd97be4d93f8d2_izvrmv8p8.jpg Mike Collins 0 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CZSG/ It seems the Supreme Court is poised to rule that corporations are truly “people” under the law and as such, are protected by the First Amendment’s right to free speech. This will overturn over one hundred years of legal precedent and create a political imbalance of seismic proportions. The current ability of large corporate interests to influence legislators through their lobbyists will pale in comparison to the ability to directly participate in partisan politics that a Supreme Court ruling would allow. Literally billions of dollars could flow into efforts to defeat legislators who do not toe their line, thus drastically changing our nation’s political landscape. The voices of average citizens, non-profits and even labor unions would be buried under an avalanche of corporate cash. If the Supreme Court decides that a corporation has First Amendment rights, protected by the Constitution the same as a natural born person, then it follows that a corporation should be extended all other rights a person has under the Constitution. This should include the right to vote in local, state and federal elections, in addition to the individual voting rights of the officers and stockholders of the corporation. If and when the Supreme Court issues the expected ruling, a sympathetic corporation should attempt to register as a voter and when registration is denied, file a federal lawsuit. A creative mind could imagine many more rights that personhood would bestow upon corporations. Such actions would be viewed as frivolous by Federal Courts but would be newsworthy and serve to draw attention to the issue and hopefully spur an expanded debate. The time has come for a Constitutional Amendment that would redefine the status of corporations. A campaign to advance such an amendment would have the advantage of the simple sound bites and simple mantras that every voter could understand. After our near financial collapse caused partly by corporate greed, now may be the perfect time to introduce such a measure. Support may never be this high again. Something must be done quickly. Such a ruling would effectively usurp the current moderate, liberal, progressive voting majority in this country and replace it with a permanent right wing majority in Congress and a permanent “lock” on the White House…beginning as soon as 2010 and 2012... all bought and paid for by major corporate interests. The establishment of a corporate state was a central tenant of our enemies in WWII. The threat to our Representative Democracy should be apparent to all. http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/DarrylEskin/CZNR http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/DarrylEskin/CZNR/commentary#comments Fri, 11 Sep 2009 21:00:29 EDT http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/DarrylEskin/CZNR Darryl Eskin http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/078fe461d1d51def72_wwnmv2yq7.jpg Darryl Eskin 1 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CZNR/ Colorado has a House power ratio of .016 (7 members of 435) a Senate power ratio of .04, equal to all the other 49 states. Seemingly insignificant unless you look at Wyoming's House power ratio of .002. Getting rid of the filibuster might be a giant step in the right direction. If majority rule works in the house, surely it should be applied in the senate. "Add the rise of the filibuster and the fact that small-state senators tend to stick around longer, gaining powerful chairmanships under the seniority system, and you've got today's change-resistant Senate." MC The Gangs of D.C. In the Senate, Small States Wield Outsize Power. Is This What the Founders Had in Mind? By Alec MacGillis Sunday, August 9, 2009 Wonder why President Obama is having a hard time enacting his agenda after sweeping to victory and with large congressional majorities on his side? Look to the Senate, the chamber designed to thwart popular will. There is much grousing on the left about the filibuster, the threat of which has taken such hold that routine bills now need 60 votes. Getting less attention is the undemocratic character of the Senate itself. Why, for example, have even Democratic senators been resistant on health-care reform? It might be because so many of the key players represent so few of the voters who carried Obama to victory -- and so few of the nation's uninsured. The Senate Finance Committee's "Gang of Six" that is drafting health-care legislation that may shape the final deal -- without a public insurance option -- represents six states that are among the least populous in the country: Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, Maine, New Mexico and Iowa. Between them, those six states hold 8.4 million people -- less than New Jersey -- and represent 3 percent of the U.S. population. North Dakota and Wyoming each have fewer than 80,000 uninsured people, in a country where about 47 million lack insurance. In the House, those six states have 13 seats out of 435, 3 percent of the whole. In the Senate, those six members are crafting what may well be the blueprint for reform. More at the Washington Post: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/07/AR2009080702045.html?hpid=opinionsbox1 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZRS http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZRS/commentary#comments Sun, 09 Aug 2009 11:30:35 EDT http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZRS Mike Collins http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/bcdcfd97be4d93f8d2_izvrmv8p8.jpg Mike Collins 0 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CZRS/ Feel Free to post any info and promote yourself and organization. we are already getting 500 unique visits a day! LeadvilleLifestyle is a 100% interactive website, you can upload videos/pics and blog. free classifieds,free forums and free business pages, also interacts with facebook and twitter! launching coloradomountainlifestyle.com soon which will hopefully free the media in eagle/summit/lake counties and the central mtns of Colorado! the user drives the content of the site! any questions just ask. we encourage folks to get active and post video/pics or blogs!!! Free The Media!!! Stand Up! http://www.leadvillelifestyle.com http://www.coloradomountainmedia.com coming soon coloradomountainlifestyle.com 100% Interactive websites! I hope ProgressNow will use this to help communicate with citizens of colorado and the co mtns!!! http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/kennygriffin/CZNk http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/kennygriffin/CZNk/commentary#comments Wed, 29 Jul 2009 15:17:30 EDT http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/kennygriffin/CZNk kenny http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/708d965bd2f1f5898a_hbbmv2ap3.jpg kenny 0 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CZNk/ "The dignity code........It also commanded its followers to be dispassionate — to distrust rashness, zealotry, fury and political enthusiasm." I'm having trouble finding balance, even though we have been blatantly provoked by charlatans in positions of trust MC NY Times July 7, 2009 Op-Ed Columnist In Search of Dignity By DAVID BROOKS When George Washington was a young man, he copied out a list of 110 “Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation.” Some of the rules in his list dealt with the niceties of going to a dinner party or meeting somebody on the street. “Lean not upon anyone,” was one of the rules. “Read no letter, books or papers in company,” was another. “If any one come to speak to you while you are sitting, stand up,” was a third. But, as the biographer Richard Brookhiser has noted, these rules, which Washington derived from a 16th-century guidebook, were not just etiquette tips. They were designed to improve inner morals by shaping the outward man. Washington took them very seriously. He worked hard to follow them. Throughout his life, he remained acutely conscious of his own rectitude. Continued: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/07/opinion/07brooks.html?em http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZgJ http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZgJ/commentary#comments Wed, 08 Jul 2009 13:15:33 EDT http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZgJ Mike Collins http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/bcdcfd97be4d93f8d2_izvrmv8p8.jpg Mike Collins 0 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CZgJ/ This past weekend ex-Congressman Scott McInnis, now a lawyer-lobbyist, announced at a Republican party meeting that he plans to run for Governor in 2010. ("McInnis tells pals: "I'm in" governor race," Denver Post , 3/22/2009) The last time McInnis was in the papers this much was in November, 2004 when he was still in Congress and under investigation by the Federal Election Commission. The FEC was investigating McInnis for using his campaign committee to pay his wife a salary of more than $40,000, plus an additional $1,150 per month, plus additional funds for a car and cell phone. ( Denver Post , 11/12/2004). The big problem with that arrangement was that McInnis didn't actually have a campaign at that point. He already had announced in the summer of 2003 that he would not seek another term, but still kept his wife on the "campaign" payroll for over a year after his decision not to run. ( Washington Post , 11/10/2004) It gets worse. On June 2, 2004, McInnis stated that much of the $1.3 million leftover in his campaign war chest--what he wasn't giving to his wife--would be used to "seed a new foundation" on breast cancer research, education and conservation. ( Rocky Mountain News , 6/2/2004) But on September 29, 2004, just before McInnis left office, his first reported "charity" was a $5,000 contribution to the DeLay Legal Expense Trust, the legal defense fund for ex-Majority Leader Tom DeLay.  (Center for Responsive Politics) Two months after that donation, and following DeLay's indictment, McInnis voted to weaken the ethics rules and allow his boss DeLay to remain majority leader. (RMN, 11/21/20004) Paying for DeLay's legal expenses out of his campaign war chest is a far cry from McInnis' pledge to use the money for breast cancer research, education and conservation. Click on the following link to join our call for McInnis to stick to his pledge to use the money left-over from his previous campaigns for "breast cancer research, education and conservation" instead of bankrolling his wife or Tom DeLay's legal expenses: http://www.ProgressNowColorado.org/KeepYourPledge Thank you, in advance, for your help in holding McInnis accountable. http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/al/CQYR http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/al/CQYR/commentary#comments Tue, 24 Mar 2009 07:28:42 EDT http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/al/CQYR Alan Franklin http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/1b6fb917dd91e10cc0_ge5omv53a.jpg Alan Franklin 0 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CQYR/ The past few months have provided a dizzying series of messages in the blogosphere praising or persecuting the new President of the United States (POTUS). Thankfully, Salon.com produced an “over the nation” report on the Republican Party today that deserves more attention, and a more in-depth analysis (from yours truly, naturally). Here’s the Salon.com link - The state (by state) of the GOP Once again, Dick Wadhams’ penchant for media attention provides the clue for how to defeat him and continue the GOP decline: "This notion that Colorado has suddenly become a Democratic state is preposterous. I think Democrats who have a grip on reality know that." -- State GOP chairman Dick Wadhams The lesson from Dick is a hard and true fact of politically strategy from today to 2012, and unfortunately, too many high level Democratic leaders are positively oblivious to the concept. While basking in the glory of Barack Obama’s victory, I am seeing too many messages ignoring recent losses and weaknesses going into future ballots. This kind of complacency and false posturing is a formula for a disaster in the 2010 General Election. Salon.com is absolutely correct by highlighting the dominance of the GOP at the county and community level. Even in Larimer County, the Democratic Party leadership is mute on the loss of a seat on the Board of County Commissioners. Reveling in the glory of former Democratic Party Chair Betsy Markey defeating Marilyn Musgrave is apparently too intoxicating to take a clear look at the dangers of the political landscape. http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/ralphtrenary/CQsd http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/ralphtrenary/CQsd/commentary#comments Wed, 18 Mar 2009 13:18:24 EDT http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/ralphtrenary/CQsd Ralph T http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/22970b0cb82ab5861b_e6yymv1de.jpg Ralph T 5 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CQsd/ A hoary old plot in many Westerns has the good, hardworking and upstanding townspeople under the tyrannical thumb of the villainous and rapacious rancher/miner/oilman along with his henchman and behind-the-scenes strategist. There is usually also a smart accountant type who never actually does anything bad, but who undertakes to make the politics work out to the economic benefit of the power elite. They have in their pocket the mayor, town council and most important to the plot, the town sheriff. Often in these plots, the first corrupt sheriff has to be replaced when he fhas an attack of conscience and finally draws a principled line because he thinks the bad guys have gone too far. There is also usually on call a stable of cruel but stupid private gunslingers and thugs who shut down dissent by extra-legal beatings, murders and threats. In various versions of this plot, the newspaper publisher is either a co-conspirator or a fearless defender of the truth who gets trashed for his honesty. The laws are made and enforced for the benefit of the power structure. The town council consists of prominent local business men who find it in their economic interest to go along in order to collect whatever crumbs are thrown their way - they go along so that they can get along. It is only when the virtuous and idealistic lawyer from back east comes along and stands up to the terror that the people rise up and dethrone the bad guys; the peace-loving and idealistic lawyer wins over the girl who was initially a passive participant in the system. It shouldn't take long to populate this plot with the actors in our current political drama. George W. Bush is the rancher/miner/oilman, Dick Cheney is his henchman, the Club for Growth, the oil industry, the financial/insurance sector and the American Chamber of Commerce are the local business men who get the economic benefits of going along. The smart accountant is played by Phil Gramm who arranges for the laws to be written to allow the exploitation to happen. The first sheriff is played by John Ashcroft and his replacement is played by Alberto Gonzalez. The thugs and gunslingers are played by Coulter, Limbaugh, and Hannity, and the evil manipulator of public opinion is Rupert Murdock. Along comes the virtuous and idealistic lawyer from back East - Barack Obama, the consummate outsider, who ultimately defeats the forces of evil by using the power of his ideals and example to galvanize the average people, reinstate the rule of law, and run the bad guys out of town, and in the end, he even wins over Hillary Clinton. The people then chip in their resources and hard work to rebuild the destruction that the bad guys have caused to the town. The big question is whether our national spaghetti western is over, or whether there remain further acts, in which there is a shootout in the main street/town square with the remnants of the old regime. Will the crooked holdover judges let the bad guys off and undermine the rule of law? Will the prominent local businessmen try to flex their economic muscles to establish a new corrupt elite? Will the rancher/miner/oilman hold his workers hostage and seek a buyout as a condition of leaving town? Will the hostile newspaperman rally the losers from reform to overturn them and reinstate the old corrupt ways? Tune in next week. http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/bullwinkle/CQsX http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/bullwinkle/CQsX/commentary#comments Wed, 11 Mar 2009 16:36:31 EDT http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/bullwinkle/CQsX Doc Martin Doc Martin 0 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CQsX/ Josh Marshall, Talkingpointsmemo.com, found this little backgrounder about Tim Geithner: ...Sandy Weill, the guy who in the 1990s built Citi into the mammoth systemic risk Death Star it is today wanted the job [CEO] to go to Tim Geithner. So if Geithner is ousted from Sec. of Treasury then he could simply jump on the Citigroup ship?   This is what Felix Salmon, Portfolio.com, thinks .  What a marvelous stinking revolving door.  While we the taxpayers are stuck with people like Geithner who still talk of "free market" and "private companies" as being the be all and end all for the American economy. BTW- Meanwhile, President Obama thinks of the netroots and bloggers in this light: And part of the reason we don’t spend a lot of time looking at blogs is because if you haven’t looked at it very carefully then you may be under the impression that somehow there’s a clean answer one way or another – well, you just nationalize all the banks, or you just leave them alone and they’ll be fine, or this or that or the other.  Duncan Black, Eschaton blog, writes : I find it more amusing than annoying that Obama has joined with many others in employing the rhetorical trick of attributing any views you wish to marginalize as coming from bloggers. I guess we, the netroots and bloggers, are just too darn new, still!   Perhaps Obama is still an intermediary step in the new political landscape and political process; i.e., Dean for America as version 1.0 then MyBarackObama as version 2.0 but what will version 3.0 look like? http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/kennethdebacker/CQsR http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/kennethdebacker/CQsR/commentary#comments Tue, 10 Mar 2009 09:06:46 EDT http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/kennethdebacker/CQsR Ken Ken 1 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CQsR/ No, no one I know is getting married. I just ran across an interesting link to a page for some people who want to re-start the Whig party. Interesting stuff! http://modernwhig.org/ This could be an idea whose time has come. I've seen quite a few online laments in the past few days from Republicans who feel that the Radical Right has swiped the party they thought they knew out from under them. I can understand them not feeling ready to switch over to the Dem side. So maybe a new centrist party is the answer. What would be needed to make that work, of course, is a radical change in how elections are run (and good luck with THAT). It could be done, though. Ken Gordon from here in Colorado proposed a change only a few years ago that would work well. It's called run-off balloting. What that means is that voters could add a second choice to their ballot. Let's say in a pretend race we have the A, B, C, D and E parties represented by candidates. We'll call A and B the long-time traditional parties, who used to be the only games in town. But the new C, D and E parties have strong core groups of supporters and a lot of fresh ideas, plus it's something new so they are getting a lot of media coverage. So when the votes are tallied, wow, shock! NO ONE got over 50%, which is the minimum required to win outright. It came out like this A: 30%, B: 29%, C: 9%, D: 12% and E: 20%. The lowest number of votes were for the C candidate, so he's out. Now the second choice votes of that candidate's supporters come into play. They are added to the totals of the votes for the other four candidates. Now the count is A: 31%, B: 30%, D: 12% and E: 27%. Still no 50%, so we go again, now taking off the D candidate and counting the second choice votes. That brings us to A: 34%, B: 32% and E: 34%. Wow, getting exciting now, eh? B is now eliminated. (Let me pause a second to say this is an over-simplified explanation, because some of the D 2nd votes might have been for the C candidate in the second round, and some of the B's 2nd votes might have been for Ds and Cs. So it would take a lot of figuring and rules to work out the details, and probably computers as well, and...yeah. Plus it would come down to individual votes rather than percentages. But let's press on, shall we?) Basically whichever candidate, A or E, gets at least 16% of B's voters 2nd choice votes gets boosted to the magic 50% number and wins the election. Since A and B have historically been rivals, E stands a very good chance of being the winner! Like I said, a highly simplified version of the process. I probably won't see it in my lifetime, but who knows? Fun to think about! http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/neonnurse/CQ9Q http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/neonnurse/CQ9Q/commentary#comments Fri, 27 Feb 2009 00:03:08 EST http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/neonnurse/CQ9Q Susan the Neon Nurse http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/4d9f8366c95149b114_4l1gmvoe1.jpg Susan the Neon Nurse 0 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CQ9Q/ Did it REALLY happen? Is That Cabal of psychopathic neo-cons REALLY GONE? I watched as Bush smirked through Obama's speech; as he gave one final attempt to scam the few fools still listening; and as he flew out waving... The crowd slowly building into song....there were 1.8 million voices out there...hopes high; trying to believe that it is all over.... But it isn't over....not by a long shot http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/Jan/CQkT http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/Jan/CQkT/commentary#comments Wed, 21 Jan 2009 19:50:09 EST http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/Jan/CQkT The Mad Woman http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/fcb34917d9fd3e3809_u806mvulr.jpg The Mad Woman 2 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CQkT/ One last effort to Stop The Pardons. Won't you help? http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/kennedyjohn/CQfn http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/kennedyjohn/CQfn/commentary#comments Wed, 14 Jan 2009 14:51:35 EST http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/kennedyjohn/CQfn John H Kennedy http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/12e758207391a9b236_ggimv2s5d.gif John H Kennedy 0 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CQfn/