Denver Tea Party 2010: PPC Livestreaming Coverage

You can follow the latest Colorado are Tax Day Tea Parties at People's Press Collective and Denver Tea Party, both of which will be providing gavel-to-gavel livestreaming coverage of tomorrow's Denver Tea Party.

Colorado Blizzard 2009 Photos And Timelapse Video

Wheat Ridge received at least 15.1" from Thursday's storm, producing these drifts by the time I returned home after a snow day(!) was declared:





Around the 2:00 mark of the following timelapse shot from my office this morning, the blizzard really kicked in:



I turned the camera to catch the intersection of 14th and Larimer--the snow was collecting so quickly, that the tire tracks from each successive turn of traffic disappeared:

Mount Virtus Turns 5

Fellow Rocky Mountain Alliance 2.0 blogger (and one of the members of the original alliance), Peoples Press Collective contributor, and good friend Ben DeGrow of Mount Virtus celebrates five years of taking it to the left in Colorado through his work on education, transparency in government, policy analysis and the promotion of lesser-known center-right bloggers in Colorado--myself included, way back in early 2006.

While five years in the blogosphere represents the equivalent of a digital eternity, Ben's posts remain fresh, deeply informed, and widely appreciated.

Cheers to Ben!

Night Twister: "Getting Connected In Colorado"

There are blog posts, and then, there are blog posts.

Fellow RMA blogger from Fort Collins, RMA radio co-host, and friend Randy Ketner of Night Twister has produced the THE blog post on the center-right in Colorado--including the GOP, libertarians (big and small L), free marketers, think tanks, etc., as well as city and county government links, local GOP party sites, online political activism, blogger alliances and much, much more.

The explanation:

Political activism is more than waxing philosophical and eviscerating politicians on blog sites and broadcast email messages. Real political activism is hard, time-consuming, and often boring, repetitive work. It means going to city council, county supervisor, and school board meetings. It’s walking precincts, making phone calls, and attending local political meetings. It also means being informed, and joining with others in keeping your representatives accountable. All of these things are the impetus behind this blog.

Knowing where to get timely information about what’s going on in your State is a huge part of the battle, especially in these days of information overload. We all have day jobs, family responsibilities and/or friends, and hopefully other interests. It’s actually alright to not know everything that’s going on everywhere all the time. Having access to the most important information means getting connected. Networking is vital to success in political activism.
. . .
What this means is, with my active involvement I can affect change in my community where it makes the biggest difference. This is not to say that national issues are not important; they most certainly are. The thing is, we can only make real changes there every 2 to 6 years. I can make a difference in my community every single day.

What will you find there? Links to the following:

Government
Political Organizations
Online Colorado Conservative Organizations
Colorado Bloggers & Alliances
Web 2.0
Online National Groups

So check out all this and more at Night Twister.

Face The State Interview On Colorado Internet Political Commentary

Recorded a few months back, Peoples Press Collective members Ross Kaminsky of Rossputin.com and yours truly were interviewed by Kate Melvin of Face The State on the state of political commentary on the Internet in Colorado, and you can listen to these comments on FTS' Weekend Edition (first segment).

Where Do We Go From Here? Conservatism 2.0 Conference

Michelle Malkin and Glenn Reynolds discuss the need for the GOP/conservatives/libertarians to continue to keep the "big tent" open and not circle the wagons and fire inward, as the right is often prone to do.

Second, a center-right new media/blogosphere convention in the style of a Kos-convention, without the moonbattery and tinfoil, of course. CPAC, held annually inside the beltway, would clearly not fit the bill.

Slapstick Politics And CBS4 Election Night Coverage

SP will be a featured blogger on CBS4's election night coverage, from 7-8pm.

Joining yours truly will be Brooke Wagner and Gloria Neal of CBS4. Click here for a preview of the webcast.

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The best coverage of Election 2008 in Colorado will come from my friends at the Rocky Mountain Alliance and Peoples Press Collective.

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Don't forget to vote, or turn in your mail-in ballot.

Questions about the 2008 ballot? Need a quick reference guide to take with you into the voting booth?
SP's ballot guide will take you through the state-level amendments and referenda, and Peoples Press Collective has assembled one as well. For thorough backgrounding and roundup of more links and other guides, Ben DeGrow has the most comprehensive roundup.

Face The State: Blog Wrangler

The great folks over at Face The State have undertaken a mighty task--the "Blog Wrangler" combines human editing and RSS feeds--to cover a wide swath of mostly center-right bloggers from across the state. It will provide a nice compliment to the Rocky Mountain Alliance 2.0 and BlogNetNews.com as a source for political blogging in Colorado.

We Now Return You To Your Regularly Scheduled Programming . . .

Vacation is over--the DNC countdown will resume this evening. Thanks to the Drunkablog for his fine efforts to keep the countdown going. Lots happened while I was away, and I'll have a summary catchup post roundup for the last week.

DNCC Credentials More Blogs For DNC

SquareState.net has the full list of all the blogs, including the original state credentialed blogs, complete with embedded links.

Rocky Mountain Alliance 2.0

Ben DeGrow explains the relaunch of the Rocky Mountain Alliance--version 2.0 for 2008:

In 2004, the Rocky Mountain Alliance of Blogs was formed - a loose collection of Colorado conservative bloggers who combined forces to grow new media influence in our state.

Times change. New blogs come. Old ones go. 2008 brings the birth of the Rocky Mountain Alliance, version 2.0. Below you will find not only links to each of our sites but also a feed you can scroll through to see our latest posts.

Some of the original cast remain, strengthened by the fresh blood of some high-quality newcomers. The goal of the Rocky Mountain Alliance 2.0 is to promote our shared conservative vision of limited and accountable government, freedom, and personal responsibility - in Colorado and in our nation, the result of the most brilliant and noble political experiment in human history.

You are invited to visit each of our sites and leave your comments.

Members

* Best Destiny
* Daily Blogster
* The Drunkablog!
* Geezerville USA
* Mount Virtus
* Night Twister
* Rocky Mountain Right
* Slapstick Politics
* Thinking Right
* View from a Height

Projects

* Ritter Watch
* Schaffer v Udall

I have posted the RMA 2.0 blogroll in the sidebar, along with the RMA 2.0 blog feed.

Slapstick Politics--A "Tech Fast"

SP will be dark this week. Well, probably most of it, anyway.

My friend suggested calling this break "tech fasting"--disconnecting one's self from the Internet and all technology designed to distract you. In this case, school projects and an unexpected change in plans have brought on this impromptu hiatus.

Be back in a jiffy . . . consider this an open thread.

**Update--so much for fasting! Posting will certainly be more infrequent as I wrap up a business plan, and a marketing strategy project. Regular blogging duties should resume next week.

Open thread still applies.

John McCain Blogger Conference Call

Today SP was invited to participate in Sen. McCain's blogger conference call--a new process for this blogger, at least.

Key questions and responses--on the North Carolina ad, "unnecessary, unwarranted"; responding to natural disasters in a quicker, better fashion; achieving the "American dream" is better handled at the local rather than Federal level; how to make California competitive and compete in the West in general--knowing the water, land, and environmental issues better than the opposition; McCain is not the candidate for raising taxes, and has a better understanding of how to deal with the economy; Sen. Obama should repudiate Weather Underground terrorists Bernardine Dohrn and William Ayers, and apologize for his comments about Sen. Tom Coburn.

Sen. McCain gamely answered questions (you can view a recap in the liveblog below), and in the time he spent speaking with the bloggers, one could sense a candidate at ease and one that had built a rapport with several of the more prominent bloggers. It is great to see the GOP nominee take advantage of the "new media"--bloggers in general--to add to his campaign outreach efforts, and feels comfortable doing so. This wasn't a "handled" event, as you can see from the North Carolina GOP ad questions. For a candidate being attacked as being "older than" in a gratuitously childish campaign ad, he certainly demonstrated his ability to recognize the opportunities afforded by the new technology. His campaign's outreach to bloggers, especially smaller regional ones like SP, provides a great deal of encouragement.

I look forward to the next conference call opportunity, and a chance to ask questions relevant to the Colorado/intermountain West area.

If you have question suggestions, you can leave them in the comments.

Others blogging:
Hugh Hewitt
Ed Morrissey

Liveblogging SamSphere Denver II--Colorado Online Part II

SamSphere Denver--April 19: Registration Open

Ben DeGrow has the details. A tentative schedule has been posted, and you can register here.

This is a sticky post--scroll for newer entries . . .

Blogger To Challenge GOP Stealth Candidate

A week ago I linked to news from blogger Joshua Sharf of a stealth GOP candidate, anti-Israeli non-conservative Rima Barakat Sinclair, and joined in calling for others to step up and challenge her positions and prevent the nomination from becoming automatic.

Well, Joshua himself has taken up the challenge and declared himself a candidate for Colorado House District 6:

So, after casting about for a candidate to challenge Rima Barakat Sinclair, a candidate who's a legitimate conservative, reasonably articulate, with a history in the party, and a record of promoting free markets, personal liberty, and limited government, a group of us has finally hit on...er, me.

Yes, I'll be spending my summer just about the last way I thought I would, petitioning on to the ballot to force a primary, and then going on to represent the party in the fall election.

No, the blog's not going away. If anything, it's going to become more important, as a sounding board for ideas and issues. And as important as this race is to me, what profiteth it man if he gain the nomination and lose his personality?

If you'd like to contribute time or, eventually, money, drop me a line here or at my email, jsharf@jsharf.com, and you can be plenty sure I'll get back to you.

The adventure begins.

Fellow blogger Ben DeGrow has already endorsed Joshua, and I will add my own words of support.

Joshua's blog may serve as an initial introduction, but from my own personal experience he is a man of integrity, strong conservative principles, and an outstanding GOP candidate. His economic knowledge is extensive (as you will discover on his blog), but his wit and insight reveal an intelligent and circumspect individual--a rarity among candidates on either side of the aisle.

As Ben points out, House District 6 is a Democrat stronghold--this is House Speaker Rep. Andrew Romanoff's seat, after all (he's term-limited)--so this isn't about politics.

It's about principles.

If you are so inclined, you should drop Joshua an email. What he needs now are "boots on the ground" to collect signatures in HD-6 (you have to a registered Republican).

Good luck to Joshua. I'll keep you updated as his campaign progresses.

Here is a look at State House District 6, smack dab in the center of Denver County (click to enlarge):

Rocky Mountain News Endorses The Blogger Protection Act Of 2008, And You Should Too

Freedom of speech may cost you dearly if you blog--you could find yourself subject to campaign finance law regulating "public communications."

Fortunately, in a surprising editorial from an MSM source, the Rocky Mountain News endorses the forthcoming Blogger Protection Act and addresses why, with the First Amendment, it should even be needed:

Maybe you're thinking of setting up your own blog to comment on the affairs of the day. By all means, join the fray. But please make sure you don't run afoul of a judge who considers your opinions a political contribution that should be regulated by federal campaign law.

We're not joking. This nation that so enshrines free expression still hasn't decided for certain whether bloggers should have the same leeway that, ahem, newspaper editorials and other traditional forms of opinion enjoy. Fortunately, Congress will soon have an opportunity to give Web blogs more durable First Amendment protection.

In the coming days, Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Tex., is set to introduce The Blogger Protection Act of 2008. The bill would enact in law regulations that were handed down two years ago by the Federal Election Commission regarding bloggers and campaign finance laws.

The FEC has twice attempted to protect Internet users from the strictures of campaign law, as it has exempted newspapers, broadcasters and other more traditional media outlets. But because these rules have been reversed once by a federal judge and could be overturned in another legal challenge or by a future FEC, a statute is needed. We hope the Blogger Protection Act becomes law.

The reason the FEC got involved to begin with was - you guessed it - the deeply flawed McCain-Feingold campaign finance law. That act regulates "anything of value used to influence an election," including "public communications." This lets the government determine whether a particular form of communication is either a contribution or an expenditure and subject to the limits of the finance law.

So does that mean a blogger who posts some snarky comment about John McCain's age or Hillary Clinton's hairdo is making a contribution to an opponent's campaign? How would such a message be valued in monetary terms? By the number of hits the page receives? By the number of comments posted by readers?

It shouldn't be. And in 2002, the FEC seemed to resolve the problem when it exempted from the law pretty much any information transmitted over the Internet.

The fact that the issue remains unresolved is most troubling, but since this has effects for all corners of the blogosphere, both left and right, it should be easy to build momentum for the bill.

What is amazing is that we need to debate this at all. The FEC and the courts have no place in regulating politically-related speech on blogs. We applaud the RMN's lead in bringing awareness of the issue, at least for Colorado's political community and especially its bloggers.

Blogging And Transparency

Ben DeGrow has an interesting post detailing liberal RMN columnist Jason Salzman's call for full blogger disclosure--in the name of credibility and a sense of separation from "professional journalism standards."

As I commented on Ben's blog, coming from the MSM–where editorials are unsigned, wire stories often unbylined, and even named writers obscure, often omitting any semblance of identity or disclosure, and even rather poor "journalistic standards"--it seems awfully arrogant to demand “full disclosure” from bloggers.

Schaffer V Udall Named Best State Political Blog For Colorado By Washington Post's "The Fix"

First edition of the WashPost's "Best State Political Blogs"



From Chris Cillizza's WashPost blog, The Fix:

Blog Roll: The Best of State Political Blogs

During The Fix's semi-vacation last week, Fixistas for were asked to chime in with their favorite state-based political blogs. We've found over the last few years that these state-based blogs are often the best repositories for good links and good analysis about races up and down the ballot.

As expected, the Fix community responded, offering links to a blog (or blogs) from 24 states. You can find all of those links after the jump.

But we're only halfway there! The goal of this project is to have at least one good state-based blog in each of the 50 states. We've still got 26 to go. So, if your home state (or adopted home state) isn't mentioned below, sound off in the comments section and help us get all 50 states covered.

One other caveat before we get to the list. The sites listed on the next page come from recommendations by our readers. Many of these blogs have a clear partisan lean. We are not endorsing the views expressed in any of these blogs; rather; The Fix is seeking to serve as a vessel of our readers' likes and dislikes.

Disagree with any of the blogs we have cited? See a state mentioned but its best blog missing. The comments section awaits.

Without further ado, here's our best of the state blogs!

If you haven't taken the time, there are some really great state-level blogs. Check them out.

As we expect this "best of" ranking to evolve over the course of this year's campaign, and openly welcome the addition of other Colorado blogs from either side of the aisle, it is clear that we have our work cut out for us. Special thanks to my colleagues Ben DeGrow and a watcher for leading the way on the blog.

We'll keep you informed at Schaffer v Udall--do drop in, send us tips, or leave us your quips.

Major Andrew Olmsted, RIP

Major Andrew Olmsted, 38

From the Rocky Mountain News, where he blogged (video, Major Andrew Olmsted explains his reasons for service and his training assignment, and comments from his wife, Amanda; RMN slideshow):

He was the first 2008 casualty in Iraq. And a small part of Maj. Andrew Olmsted likely would've chuckled at that fact. It would be droll and play into his sense of self-deprecation.

But for everyone else, the news would be devastating.

Amanda Wilson, his wife of 10 years, could barely talk Friday. The notifying officers came to her door in Colorado Springs on Thursday to tell her that Olmsted's unit had been ambushed and that he was dead. Also killed was Cpt. Thomas J. Casey, 32, of Albuquerque.

It was small-arms fire, they said. The gaping blackness after that moment seemed to suck away all the words, leaving only soft sobs in their wake.

"I know," she said quietly when condolences were passed on to her.

Her mother, who was flown in Friday to help, also was having trouble with the news. "She's trying to be brave," Wilson's mother said.

Olmsted, however, asked everyone to avoid being maudlin. And he asked everyone via a blog, of course. The 38-year-old soldier based out of Fort Carson was a prolific blogger - including one he did steadily for the Rocky Mountain News dating back to May.

Always prepared, the former Eagle Scout asked a friend to post a blog in the event of his death.

"I'm dead. That sucks, at least for me and my family and friends," he wrote. "But all the tears in the world aren't going to bring me back, so I would prefer that people remember the good things about me rather than mourning my loss. (If it turns out a specific number of tears will, in fact, bring me back to life, then by all means, break out the onions.)"

A longtime friend and fellow soldier stationed at Fort Dix, N.J., laughed. "That's him all right," Maj. Dave Willis said.

Then he did what Olmsted asked him not to do. He cried.

Major Olmsted left behind the pre-written "Final Post" to be published in these circumstances (this is a mere excerpt, read the whole thing):

I suppose I should speak to the circumstances of my death. It would be nice to believe that I died leading men in battle, preferably saving their lives at the cost of my own. More likely I was caught by a marksman or an IED. But if there is an afterlife, I'm telling anyone who asks that I went down surrounded by hundreds of insurgents defending a village composed solely of innocent women and children. It'll be our little secret, ok?

I do ask (not that I'm in a position to enforce this) that no one try to use my death to further their political purposes. I went to Iraq and did what I did for my reasons, not yours. My life isn't a chit to be used to bludgeon people to silence on either side. If you think the U.S. should stay in Iraq, don't drag me into it by claiming that somehow my death demands us staying in Iraq. If you think the U.S. ought to get out tomorrow, don't cite my name as an example of someone's life who was wasted by our mission in Iraq. I have my own opinions about what we should do about Iraq, but since I'm not around to expound on them I'd prefer others not try and use me as some kind of moral capital to support a position I probably didn't support. Further, this is tough enough on my family without their having to see my picture being used in some rally or my name being cited for some political purpose. You can fight political battles without hurting my family, and I'd prefer that you did so.

On a similar note, while you're free to think whatever you like about my life and death, if you think I wasted my life, I'll tell you you're wrong. We're all going to die of something. I died doing a job I loved. When your time comes, I hope you are as fortunate as I was.

Major Olmsted blogged about his experiences in Iraq, and the RMN did a background intro back in June.

Tributes:
Obsidian Wings:

Andy was a wonderful person: decent, honorable, generous, principled, courageous, sweet, and very funny. The world has a horrible hole in it that nothing can fill. I'm glad Andy -- generous as always -- wrote something for me to publish now, since I have no words at all. Beyond: Andy, I will miss you.

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